T.SARTA. 


.WUNNISSOO, 


VALE    OF    HOOSATUNNUK, 


A  POEM,  WITH  NOTES. 


Br  WILLIAM  ALLEN,   D.D., 

A  MEMBER  OP  THE  HISTORICAL  SOCIETIES  OP  MASSACHUSETTS,  MAINE     NEW 

HAMPSHIRE,  NEW  YORK,   AND   NEW  JERSEY,   LATE  PRESIDENT 

OP  BOWBOIN  COLLEGE,  AUTHOR  OP  THE  AMERICAN 

BIOGRAPHICAL  DICTIONARY. 


BOSTON: 

PUBLISHED    BY  JOHN  P.  JEWETT   AND    COMPANY, 

CLEVELAND.   OHIO:   JEWETT,  PBOCTOE  &  WOKTHINGTON. 

NEW  YOKK:  SHELDON,  BLAKEMAN  &  COMPANY. 
M.DCCC.LVI. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1856,  by 
WILLIAM  ALLEN,  in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court 
of  the  District  of  Massachusetts.  • 


AMERICAN  STEREOTYPE  COMPANY,  28  PH03NIX  BUILDING,  CORNER  OP 
DEVONSHIRE  STREET  AND  EXCHANGE  PLACE,  BOSTON. 


PREFACE. 


IN  the  following  poem  it  has  been  the  aim 
of  the  writer  to  utter  truths  and  sentiments, 
which  are  calculated  to  enlarge  and  improve 
the  heart  and  to  ennoble  the  character.  He 
could  not  deem  himself  innocent,  if  his  lei 
sure  hours  were  given  to  idle,  unprofitable 
minstrelsy ;  but,  if  his  harp  be  so  attuned  to 
pure  and  heavenly  strains,  as  that  any  should 
listen  with  interest  and  benefit,  he  would  be 
shielded  from  self-reproach. 

In  the  present  unusual  culture  of  a  literary 
taste  in  this  country  he  conceived,  that  poetry 
might  be  made,  as  it  should  be,  the  hand 
maid  of  religion.  Among  the  principles  of 
our  nature  that  of  fancy  has  a  most  impor 
tant  influence  upon  our  happiness ;  and,  if 
not  occupied  in  idle  musings,  but  wisely  di 
rected,  it  may  lend  illustration  and  enforce- 


..    -' 

. 


4  PREFACE. 

ment  to  the  weightiest  and  sublimest  truths. 
The  author,  it  will  be  seen,  has  adopted  the 
form  of  a  narrative,  wishing  to  make  the 
story  the  vehicle  of  truth  and  emotion.  But 
the  narrative  is  founded  on  real  events,  and 
never  surpasses  the  bounds  of  possibility;  it 
has  also,  as  he  thinks,  the  necessary  verisimili 
tude,  so  as  not  to  awaken  a  painful  feeling  of 
doubt  and  mistrust.  He  might  have  produced 
a  philosophical,  moral,  religious  poem,  desti 
tute  of  a  story  and  barren  of  incidents  ;  but 
there  would  have  been  wanting  a  common 
bond  to  link  the  different  stanzas  into  one 
piece ; — there  would  have  been  wanting  also 
the  power  of  sympathy,  by  which  the  con 
cerns  of  a  fellow-being  seize  strongly  upon 
our  heart,  perhaps  more  strongly  than  all 
that  is  beautiful  and  grand  in  nature. 

To  those  scrupulous  minds,  that  revolt  at 
every  thing  in  the  garb  of  fiction,  he  would 
say,  that  they  can  hardly  have  reflected  on 
the  multitude  of  parables  or  fictitious  stories, 
scattered  throughout  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and 
which  were  uttered  by  Him,  who  is  the  Truth. 
"When  the  aim  is  to  instruct,  and  not  to  de 
ceive  and  delude,  who  ought  to  object  to  a 


PREFACE.  5 

parable,  or  story  ?  Indeed,  instead  of  calling 
instruction  thus  communicated  a  fiction,  it 
might  be  more  proper  to  call  it  truth  in  the 
array  of  fancy,  and  to  consider  it  as  the  visit 
of  an  angel  in  the  form  of  a  man. 

He  has  been  accustomed  to  think,  that  the 
interest  and  value  of  poetry  depend  much 
upon  its  being  the  expression  of  the  deep 
conviction  and  strong  feeling  of  the  writer. 
Therefore  he  has  uttered  nothing  but  what 
he  thoroughly  believes ;  nothing  but  what  he 
has  felt.  To  most  of  the  scenes  described  he 
has  not  been  a  stranger.  He  speaks  from 
knowledge ;  and  he  cherishes  the  hope,  that 
this  little  book  will  find  a  welcome  in  many 
a  pious  heart. 

The  writer  has  ever  thought,  that  simplicity 
in  writing  is  a  great  excellence ;  but  he 
intends  by  it,  not  a  childishness  of  thought, 
expressed  in  childishness  of  language,  but 
natural,  and  it  may  be  rich  and  affecting  sen 
timents,  presented  in  pure  Saxon,  in  the  most 
perspicuous  manner  possible,  as  one  of  our 
clear,  northern  lakes  reveals  through  its  trans 
parent  waters  the  objects  lying  at  the  bottom. 
Any  peculiarities  of  style,  which  obscure  the 


6  PREFACE. 

thought  or  divert  attention  from  it,  he  deems 
a  defect ;  and  such  a  defect,  as  if  the  lake 
was  frozen,  and  as  if  the  ice  was  formed, 
when  the  flood  was  unquiet,  or  with  inter 
mingled  sleet,  so  that  nothing  can  be  seen  be 
low,  and  the  eye  is  confined  to  the  hues  and 
shapes  of  the  mantle,  thrown  over  the  clear 
waters.  When  the  thought  is  of  no  value 
and  there  is  a  poverty  of  conception,  we  may 
allow  a  gorgeousness  of  diction  and  an  inver 
sion  and  obscurity  of  style. 

The  author  is  persuaded,  that  the  stanza  of 
Spenser  is  altogether  preferable  to  any  other 
measure  for  a  poem  of  the  kind,  which  is  here 
given  to  the  public.  It  has  the  advantage  of 
partition  into  distinct  portions  of  nine  lines ; 
whereas  the  solid  mass  of  the  common  heroic 
verse  is  rather  terrifying  to  the  reader.  It  has 
the  higher  advantage  of  variety  in  the  pauses. 
It  combines  much  of  the  freedom  and  dignity 
of  blank  verse  with  the  pleasures  of  rhyme. 
There  is  also  a  degree  of  elevation  and  mag 
nificence  in  the  lengthened,  closing  line  of 
each  stanza. 

Yet  to  the  unpractised  reader  of  poetry  it 
may  at  first  appear  somewhat  perplexed,  al- 


PREFACE.  7 

though  the  rhymes  are  regular  and  invariable. 
But  all  difficulty  will  at  once  vanish,  when  it 
is  considered,  that  each  stanza  consists  of 
alternate  rhymes,  like  Gray's  Elegy,  with  an 
additional  closing  line  rhyming  with  the 
eighth,  and  with  the  law,  that  the  fifth  line 
rhyme  also  with  the  fourth. 

Of  the  capabilities  of  Spenser's  stanza,  no 
one  can  doubt,  who  is  conversant  with  his 
Fairy  Queen,  or  with  Thomson's  Castle  of 
Indolence,  Seattle's  Minstrel,  Campbell's  Ger 
trude  of  Wyoming,  The  Pilgrimage  of  Byron, 
or  Southey's  Tale  of  Paraguay.  Of  Camp 
bell's  Gertrude,  with  all  its  beauties,  it  may 
not  be  improper  for  an  American  to  remark, 
that  there  is  a  want  of  correctness  in  the  de 
scription,  a  failure  in  the  keeping  of  the  piece. 
He  represents,  that  exiles  from  every  clime 
met  at  Wyoming ;  whereas,  the  inhabitants 
were  a  colony  from  Connecticut.  But  this  is 
a  more  pardonable  fault,  than  to  speak  of  the 
flamingo  as  disporting  on  our  northern  lakes, 
and  of  the  everlasting  aloes,  and  palm-tree, 
and  crocodile  as  belonging  to  the  natural  his 
tory  and  scenery  of  Pennsylvania.  This  is 
like  speaking  of  lions  and  camels  in  Spitzber- 


0  PREFACE. 

gen;  or  bread-fruit  trees  in  the  highlands  of 
Scotland. 

It  has  been  the  aim  of  the  writer  of  this 
poem — with  what  success  the  reader  must 
judge — to  preserve  truth  in  the  description  of 
natural  objects,  and  of  Indian  customs  and 
manners.  For  the  freedom  of  some  of  his 
rebukes  he  makes  no  apology.  However  in 
dulgent  we  may  be  to  the  harmless  structures 
of  the  imagination,  yet  eternal  truth  and 
immutable  virtue  have  rights  and  claims, 
which  are  never  to  be  disregarded ;  and  none, 
who  transgress  the  laws  of  either,  whether 
maliciously  or  incautiously,  should  be  shielded 
from  censure  or  correction. 

The  title  of  this  poem  carries  back  the 
writer  to  his  native  village  and  the  scenes  of 
the  earlier  periods  of  his  life.  With  the  dear, 
distant  vale  are  connected  interesting  histori 
cal  facts,  some  of  which  are  described  with 
such  meditations,  as  were  suggested  to  his 
mind,  and  seemed  adapted  to  his  object  of 
combining  pleasure  with  important  instruc 
tion. 
BOWDOIN  COLLEGE,  Maine,  Nov.  25,  1826. 


SECOND   PREFACE. 


IT  is  rare,  that  a  long  poem  is  published  by 
a  writer,  who  has  travelled  beyond  the  desig 
nated,  scriptural  period  of  human  life ;  but,  al 
though  the  author  of  this  poem  is  an  old  man, 
it  was  not  written  by  an  old  man.  It  will  be 
seen  by  the  date  of  the  first  preface,  that  it 
was  written  thirty  years  ago.  The  history  of 
it  is  this.  While  walking  amidst  a  paradise  of 
blessings,  with  one  by  my  side  more  dear  to 
me,  than  beguiled  Eve,  though  exceeding  fair, 
was  to  Adam,  I  composed  this  poem.  If  the 
thought  of  publishing  it  ever  entered  my 
mind,  the  thought  was  associated  with  its 
being  read  in  print,  as  it  was  in  manu 
script,  by  the  kindled  eye  of  affection.  But 


10  SECOND   PREFACE. 

at  this  moment  of  my  bliss  the  loved  one 
suddenly  passed  away,  and  this  testimony 
of  my  love  was  buried  with  her, — but  did 
not,  like  her,  remain  fresh  in  my  heart; 
for  it  slept  among  my  papers,  until  in  the 
lapse  of  years  I  had  forgotten  its  exist 
ence.  At  last  my  memory  was  awakened 
by  my  being  called  to  deliver  a  poem  at 
the  Berkshire  Jubilee,  in  1844,  at  the  as 
sembly  of  the  natives  of  the  Hoosatunnuk 
Valley,  in  Pittsfield.  But  again  I  laid  it 
aside,  and  have  let  it  rest  once  more  for 
a  new  period,  longer  than  the  nine  years 
recommended  by  Horace.  Recently  I  have 
read  it  anew,  and  have  now  concluded  to 
offer  this  poem  to  the  public  in  the  hum 
ble  hope,  that  it  may  find  readers,  whom 
it  may  please,  and  whom  it  may  strength 
en,  in  the  love  and  practice  of  that,  which 
is  good.  A  few  verses,  it  will  be  seen,  are 
added  to  the  poem  in  a  separate  piece, 


SECOND  PREFACE.  11 

which  were    written  immediately  after  the 
funeral   of  her,   to  whom  it  is  dedicated. 

I  now  publish  this  poem  with  the  same 
moral  aims,  which  are  expressed  in  the 
first  preface,  and  of  which,  as  the  proper 
aims  of  poetry,  Dryden  was  not  ignorant. 
His  words  are : — 

"  O,  gracious  God  !    how  far  have  we 
Profan'd  thy  heavenly  gift  of  Poesy  ? 
Made  prostitute  and  profligate  the  muse, 
Debas'd  to  each  obscene  and  impious  use, 
Whose  harmony  was  first  ordain'd  above 
For  tongues  of  angels  and  for  hymns  of  love?" 

A  high  responsibleness  rests  upon  the 
poet  for  the  correctness  and  distinctness  of 
the  moral  and  religious  sentiments,  which 
he  utters ;  for  error  leads  to  folly  and  ini 
quity,  and  it  is  truth,  which  is  associated 
with  virtue  and  happiness.  It  is  a  base 
thing  to  pollute  the  fancy,  and  to  infuse  a 
poison  into  the  heart ;  and  it  is  hardly  less 
injurious  to  inculcate  error  in  contradiction 


12  SECOND    PREFACE. 

to  the   explicit  and    authoritative   teaching 
of  the   divine  word. 

In  looking  at  the  great  mass  of  English 
poetry  it  saddens  the  heart  to  think,  how 
much  of  it  bears  an  immoral  character, 
and  how  small  a  portion  of  it  is  perfectly 
consonant  with  the  ennobling  principles  of 
the  gospel.  The  heathen  poets  praised  their 
false  gods;  but  many  of  our  Christian 
poets  seem  ashamed  to  acknowledge  the 
true  God,  and  seem  also  to  be  ignorant 
of  the  sublime  doctrines  pertaining  to  the 
redemption  of  the  world  by  the  atoning 
sacrifice  of  the  Son  of  God,  who  came 
down  from  heaven, — the  most  precious  of 
all  the  truths,  which  can  be  brought  to 
the  knowledge  of  man. 

NORTHAMPTON,  Massachusetts,  April  5,  1856. 


CONTENTS. 


PREFACE 3 

SECOND  PREFACE 9 

DEDICATION 15 

CANTO  1 21 

Youth  Embarking 47 

CANTO  II 63 

Hymn  on  the  Nativity  of  Christ 85 

CANTO   III 91 

The  Ravens'  War  Hymn 118 

CANTO  IV 125 

Hymn  of  the  Redeemed 155 

After  the  Funeral  of  my  Wife 159 

NOTES. 

Wunnissoo 167 

County  of  Berkshire " 

Massachusetts 169 

Pontoosuc  or  Pittsfield " 

Rev.  Thomas  Allen 170 

Origin  of  Indians 171 

Bunch  Words 176 

Mohegan " 

Indian  Languages 178 

Indian  Trade 192 

Ahkook  or  Kettle 193 

Love  of  Onkuppee 194 

John  Sergeant 195 


14  CONTENTS. 

Page 
Stockbridge  and  Great  Barrington. ...,.,. 196 

Wampum 199 

Birds  of  New  England 201 

Poetic  Idolatry " 

Indian  Canoe 202 

Indian  Belief 204 

Wigwam 205 

Birch  Bark " 

Indians  described 206 

Indian  Stone-Heaps 207 

Dighton  Eock 208 

Totems " 

Powwows 209 

Catholic  Miracles 210 

Indian  Converts 211 

Preachers  to  Indians 215 

Newell  and  HaU 218 

Horses  to  Travellers 219 

Slavery " 

Cicero  on  Future  Existence. 223 

Carter  and  Woodbury " 

Northern  Lights, 224 

Niagara  Falls '.     " 

Mrs.  Gumming 225 

Peace  Congress  at  Paris. " 

Victor  Hugo 226 

East  Hoosuck  Fort 228 

Mr.  Stevens  and  Miss  Piercy " 

Sackville , " 

Jonathan  Edwards 231 

Mohegan  Language 232 

Note  for  a  Memorable  Day 236 


DEDICATION 

TO 

MARIA  MALLEVILLE  WHEELOCK  ALLEN. 


1. 

MALLEVILLE  !    Companion  of  my  earthly  way, 

Leading  to  bright  and  blessed  world  above, 
In  fleeting  years  gone  by  our  feet  did  stray 
In  that  sweet  Vale,  my  harp  to  sing  hath  strove, 
Whither  I  drew  thee  from  thy  much-lov'd 

"Plain," 
"Where  Dartmouth's  sons  thy  Father's  care  did 

train. 

In  that  far  distant  vale  the  elder  born 
Of  our  young  flock  first  saw  life's  pleasant  morn : 
Dear  then  that  spot  to  them,  to  thee,  to  me,— 
And  sure  my  song  to  please  those,  whom  I  love. 
But  higher  aims  my  minstrelsy  emmove, — 
To  teach  the  truth  divine  and  godlike  charity. 


16  DEDICATION. 

2. 

The  happy  faces,  smiling  round  our  board, 
We  have  in  charge  to  guide  where  God  doth 

dwell, 

For  all  in  vain  for  them  is  earthly  hoard 
Of  treasure  and  of  joy,  as  we  know  well, 
And  vain  the  pride  of  lofty-beaming  mind, 
And  vain  the  glowing  fantasy  refin'd, 
Unless  with  heav'nly  hope  their  bosoms  swell, 
And  for  them  treasures  in  the  skies  are  stor'd. 
Our  toils  pursue  this  high  and  holy  end 
From  day  to  day, — their  untaught  steps  to  guide, 
That  they  from  heav'nward  path  may  never 

bend 

To  stray  in  downward,  crowded  way  and  wide. 
Yet  oft  the  images  of  those,  we  lov'd, 
The  needful,  wise  admonishment  do  bring, 
That  we  by  sudden  flight  may  be  remov'd 
From  this  our  work,  from  joys  that  round  us 

spring, 
As  quits  her  nest  the  startled  bird  on  rapid  wing. 


DEDICATION.  17 

3. 

If  this  the  will  of  God,  and  we  should  live 
Within  their  hearts,  as  others  live  in  ours, 
This  record  of  the  truths  we  love,  may  give 
Impression  deep  e'en  to  their  latest  hours, 
And  song  may  teach,  when  death  our  frame 

devours. 

Their  tabernacle  too  will  death  o'erthrow, 
And  bring  each  bright  and  beauteous  structure 

low; 

But,  if  they  love,  as  we  with  fervor  pray, 
The  matchless  Friend  of  man,  who  did  not  hide 
His  face  from  contumelious  array, 
But  on  the  tort'ring  cross  a  victim  died, 
This  love  o'er  death  a  victory  will  ensure. 
Their  bodies  in  the  grave  will  sleep  secure  ; 
And  when  the  great,  eternal  morn  shall  break, 
And  all  from  their  deep  slumbers  shall  awake, 

Both  we,  and  they,  and  all  the  good  shall  rise, 

• 
As  we  do  hope,  and  with  immortal  wing 

Mount  upward  to  our  home  in  yonder  skies, 
2 


18  DEDICATION. 

And  for  interminable  ages  sing 
In  strains,  my  harp  to  echo  vainly  tries, 
And  which  transcend  all  mortal  carolling, 
His  rapt'rous  praise,  who  to  the  bliss  of  heaven 
doth  bring. 

BOWDOIN  COLLEGE,  Dec.  26,  1826. 


nf  $5flfl0atmraulk 


CANTO    I. 


WUNNISSOO, 


THE  VALE  OF  HOOSATUNNUK. 


CANTO   I. 
1. 

THROUGH  Hoosatunnuk's  Vale  there  flows  the 

stream, 

Along  whose  banks,  in  childhood's  joyous  days, 
Oft  have  I  stray'd  and  mark'd  its  silver  gleam 
And  rippling  surface,  as  the  gay  fish  plays, 
Myself  as  gay  and  happy,  while  the  blaze 
Of  noontide  sun  o'er  all  the  varied  scene 
Scatter'd  profuse  his  rich,  delusive  rays, 
Gilding  the  stream,  and  tree,  and  meadow  green 
With  more  delightful  hues,  than  ever  since  my  eyes 
have  seen. 


22  VALE   OF   HOOSATUNNUK. 

2. 

Dear  Vale,  to  vie  with  thine  what  strains  shall 
Did  ever  warbler  half  so  sweetly  sing,       [dare  ? 
As  red-breast,  filling  all  thy  od'rous  air, — 
What  time  the  sun  breaks  through  the  shower  of 

spring,— 

With  clear  and  hearty  notes,  that  rapture  bring, 
Tuning  the  praise  of  Him,  whose  cov'nant  bow 
Is  stretch'd  in  th'  eastern  sky  on  fairy  wing, 
And  with  his  joyous  strains,  that  ceaseless  flow, 

Shaming  the  thankless  hearts,  which  with  no  fervors 
glow? 

3. 

Did  ever  wild-flow'r  breathe  perfume  so  sweet, 
As  thine,  or  ever  bear  so  rich  a  guise  ? 
The  modest  violet  beneath  my  feet, 
The  lowly  dandelion's  golden  dyes, 
The  moccasin  flow'r,  peerless  in  my  eyes, — 
Pluck'd  in  the  well-known  swamp  of  larch  and 

brake, — 

Now  prun'd,  alas,  a  meadow  smooth  it  lies, — 
With  snow-white  lily,  gather'd  in  the  lake, 

All  in  my  glowing  heart  the  purest  joys  did  wake. 


CANTO   1.  23 

4. 

Fresh  in  my  heart  is  now  the  village-green, — 
Though  distant  far,  and  years  have  rolled  away, — 
Where  church  and  school-house  stand  in  graceful 

mien, 

And  where  my  eager  childhood  held  its  play. 
O  venerable  Elm  of  proud  array, 
Whose  tow'ring  head  o'ertops  the  temple's  vane, 
And  both  point  upward  to  the  realms  of  day ! 
Beneath  thee  oft  by  moonlight  have  I  lain, 

While  thy  vast  shadowy  length  was  stretch'd  along 
the  plain. 

5. 

And  then  the  dark-blue  mountain,  on  whose  brow, 
Like  turban  on  the  Moor-man's  swarthy  face, 
The  clouds  were  often  wreath'd  in  folds  of  snow, 
Rais'd  his  huge  form  o'er  all  th'  incumbent  space, 
And  seem'd  the  giant  guardian  of  the  place. 
Not  e'en  th'  Olympian  mount  on  Tempe's  vale 
Frowns  so  sublime,  nor  with  such  awful  grace ; 
And  in  my  eye  e'en  Tempe's  charms  would  fail 

To  match  the  beauties  of  my  lovely,  native  dale. 


24  VALE   OP   HOOSATUNNUK. 

6. 

Pontoosuc  then  the  spot,  now  Pittsfield  named, 
So  call'd  from  him,  whose  voice  the  chapel  shook, 
Where  England's  Senate  sate.   With  eye  inflamed 
With  indignation,  with  majestic  look,         [strook, 
With  outstretch'd  arm,  and  tones,  which  terror 
He  cried, — as  liberty  his  great  heart  warms, — 
"  American  were  I,  I  would  not  brook 
The  wrong;    and,  while  your  hirelings  spread 

alarms, 
Never !  never !  never !  would  I  lay  down  my  arms  ! " 

7. 

These  beauties  live,  yet  all  to  me  are  dead : 
Chang'd  is  the  stream,  and  hill,  and  bird,  and 

flower, 

For  childhood's  wondrous  garnishment  is  fled, 
And  many  a  dear  associate  of  the  hour, 
Whose  love  bestow'd  on  all  the  scene  its  power, — 
A  father's  holy  face,  and  sister's  heart, 
And  brothers'  friendly  hands, — are  now  no  more. 
Th'  unpitying  king  has  struck  them  with  his  dart ; 
And  faded  is  the  bliss,  which  nature's  charms  im 
part. 


CANTO   I.  25 

8. 

The  forms  of  vanish'd  joys  do  haunt  the  scene, 
And,  hid  from  others,  glide  before  my  eye : 
Ah,  who  can  calmly  see  their  mournful  mien, 
And  gaze  upon  th'  unreal  mockery  ? 
Yet,  Hoosatunnuk  !  turns  my  soul  to  thee, 
And  rooted  scenes  still  in  my  memory  cling; 
No  force  can  tear  them  thence,  while  life  may  be. 
Then  let  me  to  my  God  an  off'ring  bring, 
While  of  my  native  vale  with  grief  and  joy  I  sing. 

9. 

Where  Massachusetts'  western  bound  is  spread, 
A  river  winds  toward  the  noonday  light 
Through  fertile    fields  and    meads  with  flow'rs 

o'erspread, 

On  either  side  uprear'd  a  mountain  height. 
The  vale,  now  grateful  to  the  ploughshare  bright, 
Cover'd  with  English  herds  and  flocks  of  Spain, 
With  pop'lous  towns  and  villages  bedight, 
And  waving  with  tall  grass  or  yellow  grain, 
Was,  not  twice  fifty  years  ago,  a  forest  plain. 


26  VALE   OF  HOOSATUNNUK. 

10. 

It  was  a  wilderness  of  various  wood ; — 
Elm,  hemlock,  maple,  birch  on  high  did  climb, 
But  over  all  the  pine  in  kingly  mood 
Did  proudly  stand  with  peerless  head  sublime. 
The  forest  seem'd  untouch'd  from  birth  of  time, 
Save  where  was  seen  an  Indian  hamlet's  flame, 
Rising  in  valley  sweet,  where  waters  chime, 
The  place  selected  both  for  fish  and  game : 
The  river  and  the  vale  bore  Hoosatunnuk's  name. 

11. 

The  Indians  in  this  fair,  retired  vale 
Were  scions  of  the  old  Mohegan  tree, 
Tallest  of  all  the  trees,  that  feel  the  gale ; 
Their  language  spread  from  salt  to  inland  sea, 
With  common  root,  but  branching  variously. 
Their  toils  were  chiefly  labors  of  the  chase  ; 
They  could  not  boast  of  skill  in  husbandry, 
Save  that  for  maize  and  climbing  beans  they 

trace 
And  cultivate  by  female  hands  a  narrow  space. 


CANTO   I.  27 

12. 

Alas  for  woman  in  the  savage  state, 
Doom'd  like  a  slave  to  work  her  master's  will, 
And  bear  each  burden  for  her  lordly  mate, 
While  he  pursues  the  game  o'er  dale  and  hill ! 
Yet  better  far  this  drudg'ry  to  fulfil, 
Than  be  the  pretty,  soulless,  flatter'd  thing, 
In  softness  bred,  shrinking  from  slightest  ill ; 
For  toil  is  questionless  of  health  the  spring, 
While  idleness  can  nothing  yield  but  suffering. 

13. 

The  red  men  in  this  solitary  nook 
From  where  they  late  had  liv'd  had  hither  fled  ; 
For  ill  could  they  the  face  of  white  man  brook, 
Whose  axe  brings  low  the  forest  wide-outspread, 
And  opens  to  the  sun  the  hunter's  shade. 
Yet  even  here  they  scarcely  were  removed 
By  one  day's  journey  from  the  plough  and  spade : 
The  power  of  culture  was  around  them  proved, 
Save  to  the  north  there  stretch'd  the  wilderness,  they 
loved.  * 


28  VALE   OF  HOOSATUNNUK. 

14. 

Along  the  mountain  ridges  they  pursued 
With  zeal  unwearied  and  with  keen  delight 
The  lofty  moose,  with  branching  horns  endued, 
Whose  clatt'ring  hoofs  resounded  in  his  flight, — 
The  shaggy  bear,  and  deer  with  feet  most  light, — 
Whose  skins  the  needful  clothing  did  bestow, 
And  flesh  abated  their  fierce  appetite :  [low, 

'Twas  when  a  whizzing  ball  their  game  brought 
Their  eager  minds  with  savage  joy  did  overflow. 

15. 

Musquash  and  others  of  the  furry  race 

Along  the  streams  and  lakes  with  traps  they  caught ; 

But  chief  the  beaver,  whom  they  knew  to  trace 

By  riv'let's  dam,  with  skill  and  labor  wrought, — 

A  wondrous  work  in  animal  untaught ; — 

Their  broad,  sharp  teeth,  like  adze,  the  trees  cut  • 

down, 

And  having  rais'd  the  pond  with  wise  forethought, 
Above  the  wave  their  domiciles  they  crown, — 
Well-order'd   commonweal  dfid  pop'lous,  thriving 

town. 


CANTO   I.  29 

16. 

When  thus  of  furs  the  Indians  had  good  store, 
They  knew  with    white   men    how    to  urge    a 

trade, 

Their  needments  to  procure 'with  cautious  lore, — 
A  shining  gun,  a  knife  with  sharpest  blade, 
A  blanket  with  desir'd  adornments  made, 
Blue  cloth  to  supersede  their  ancient  dress, 
With  silver  ornaments  to"  be  displayed  : 
But  never,  as  they  went,  could  they  suppress 

The  love  of  Onkuppee,  great  source  of   dire  dis 
tress. 

17. 

Seeing  their  wilder'd,  heathen  state  with  ruth, 
It  was  resolv'd  by  gen'rous  men  and  good 
To  offer  them  the  light  of  heav'nly  truth, 
By  which  to  scatter  superstition's  brood, 
And  lead  them  to  the  Saviour's  cleansing  blood. 
Beneath  the  academic  shades  of  Yale 
Was  found  a  Teacher  of  a  noble  mood, 
With  purpose  firm,  that  knew  not  how  to  quail, 

Content  for  Indian  weal  to  toil  till  life  should  fail. 


30  VALE    OF  HOOSATUNNUK. 

18. 

O  Sergeant !  In  this  wilderness  obscure, 
Unknown  to  fame  thy  worth  is  greater  far, 
And  joys,  which  gather  round  thy  heart,  more 

pure, 

Than  worth  and  joys  of  men  renown'd  in  war, 
Enrich'd  and  honor'd  for  each  perilous  scar : 
For  pale-fac'd  coward  may  rush  into  the  fight 
Compell'd, — or  titles  dazzle  from  afar, — 
Or  scent  of  blood  may  urge  with  foe  in  sight, — 

Or  love  for  the  high  game  may  wake  the  hero's 
might. 

19. 

Self-conquest  is  the  hardest  vict'ry  won. 
To  level  stubborn  pride  with  mighty  blow, 
Untir'd  the  race  of  charity  to  run 
Midst  shame,  ingratitude,  and  care,  and  woe, 
As  rivers  in  rough  channels  ceaseless  flow ; 
To  imitate  the  God,  who  sits  on  high, 
And  sends  his  rain  on  good  and  bad  below, — 
This  is  far  nobler — truth  and  reason  cry — 

Than  car  of  war  to  guide  with  eagle's  fiery  eye. 


CANTO   I.  31 

20. 

Such  humble  bliss  full  many  may  despise 
And  deem  unfit  to  wake  the  minstrel's  song ; 
But  surely  peace  and  joy  are  not  the  prize, 
That  crowns  the  cares  of  proud  and  courtly  throng. 
The  mountain  peak,  glitt'ring  with  radiance  strong 
And  seen  afar,  is  rock  array'd  in  snow, 
While  at  its  feet,  in  guise  of  freshness  young, 
The  garden  lifts  its  sweet  and  gentle  brow, 
And  breathes   the  od'rous   plants,  which  by  the 
stream  do  grow. 

21. 

Were  they  estrang'd  from  bliss  and  dignity, — 
The  poor  and  humble  men,  whom  Jesus  led 
Along  the  lowly  vales  of  Galilee, 
Himself  not  having  where  to  lay  his  head  ? 
He  on  the  poor  his  richest  blessings  shed ; 
To  them  glad  tidings  from  above  he  brought 
Of  life  eternal,  free  from  woe  and  dread. 
Then  look  not  on  the  poor  with  scornful  thought : 
Thou  must  in  heart  be  poor,  if  heav'n  is  truly  sought. 


32  VALE   OF   HOOSATUNNUK. 

22. 

At  Wnahtukook  there  liv'd  a  worthy  chief, 
To  hear  the  Christian  story  well  inclined, 
Who,  while  he  look'd  on  heathen  rites  with  grief, 
Welcom'd  the  good  man  on  his  errand  kind. 
Full  soon  the  truth  shed  light  upon  his  mind, 
And  he  was  wash'd  in  laver  undefiled. 
Nor  Kunkapot  alone  did  mercy  find  ; 
His  daughter  too  was  bless'd, — a  lovely  child, 
Like  beauteous,  fragrant  flow'r,  that  springs  in  forest 

wild. 

23. 

Here  liv'd  in  her  sweet  solitude  the  maid, 
Secluded  in  her  nook  by  mountain's  side, 
Save  when,  with  journey  soon  perform'd,  she 

strayed 

Where  Hudson's  noble  river  rolls  his  tide, 
On  which  the  white-wing'd  vessels  swiftly  glide, 
Fraught  with  the  riches  of  far  distant  lands, 
And  where  the  fort  of  Albany  defied 
Th'  assaults  of  leagued  French  and  Indian  bands, 
And  frowning  guardian  of  the  city  proudly  stands. 


CANTO   I.  33 

24. 

As  thriving  vine  in  this  retired  vale 
Upon  the  river's  banks  spreads  foliage  fair, 
And  climbs  the  elm,  unshrinking  from  the  gale, 
And  hangs  the  purple  clusters  in  the  air  ; 
So  was  her  docile  mind  with  pious  care 
To  high  attainments  train'd.     She  learn'd  the 

lore 

Of  near  and  ancient  days  ;  and  she  did  bear 
The  fruits  of  mind  and  fruits  of  heart  still  more, 
For  which  her  gladden'd  teacher  grateful  thanks  did 
pour. 

25. 

Her  cheek  was  not  the  white  of  driven  snow, 
But,  like  the  glowing  cloud  of  western  sky, 
Ting'd  with  a  blushing  hue,  as  sun  sinks  low  ; 
A  chasten'd  brightness  gleam'd  from  her  dark  eye ; 
Her  raven  locks  were  parted  gracefully 
Above  her  modest  forehead,  and  behind 
Two  pendent,  glossy  braids  did  softly  lie, — 
As  if  to  keep  her  tresses  from  the  wind, 
Which  revels  in  the  curls,  that  no  confinements  bind. 
3 


34  VALE   OF   HOOSATUNNUK. 

26. 

A  wampum  belt  compress'd  her  mantle's  fold  ; 
Her  moccasins,  with  hedge-hog  quills  inlaid 
Of  various  dye,  her  slender  feet  infold ; 
And  these  were  all  th'  adornments  of  the  maid. 
No  silken  drap'ry  was  around  her  spread ; 
No  sun-born  diamonds  glitter'd  on  the  sight ; 
Her  gentle  form  in  simplest  guise  arrayed, 
Her  cheerful  face  beam'd  forth  serenely  bright, 
With  greater  power  to  charm,  than  if  with  pearls 

bedight. 

27. 
And  there  was  one,  whom  her  sweet  face  did 

charm. 

Nay,  gentle  reader,  in  refinement  bred 
Midst  crowded  city's  pestilential  calm, 
Think  not,  by  erring  prejudice  misled, 
That  love  his  nets  has  ne'er  in  forest  spread. 
The  wild  wood-pigeon  cooes  his  tender  lay, 
Where  native  forests'  boundless  waves  outspread — 
Nor  with  less  soul,  than  bird  with  plumage  gay 
Pouring  his  song  in  cage,  from  which  he  may  not 

stray. 


CANTO   I.  35 

28. 

The  Indian  youth,  who  sought  Wunnissoo's  love, 
Had  been  companion  of  her  childish  years  ; 
His  father's  wigwam  stood  by  walnut  grove, 
O'er  which  the  smoke  its  wreathed  column  rears. 
If  Hoosatunnuk's  vale  to  him  appears 
With  every  charm  and  every  grace  arrayed, — 
Fairer  than  moon  amid  the  starry  spheres, — 
It  was  because  the  image  of  the  maid 
Was  mingled  in  his  mind  with  stream,  and  grove, 
and  glade. 

29. 

Mohekun  was  a  manly  youth ;  his  eye 
Was  keen  as  eagle's  in  his  rapid  flight, 
The  distant  game  as  quickly  to  descry. 
He  sent  the  arrow  with  the  speed  of  light, 
Nor  fail'd  the  shining  tube  to  aim  aright ; 
The  hatchet  he  could  throw  with  guidance  true ; 
In  toils  of  chase  he  found  a  sweet  delight ; 
The  deer  and  forest  game  his  skill  might  rue, 
And  from  each  stream  the  crimson-spotted  trout  he 
drew. 


36  VALE   OF  HO08ATDNNUK. 

30. 

Yet  he  was  more  than  noble  savage  youth ; 
The  good  man's  ceaseless  care  had  form'd  his 

mind 

To  love  of  virtue  and  of  sacred  truth : 
By  patient  culture  soften'd  and  refined, 
Religion's  power  had  made  him  meek  and  kind. 
He  lov'd  God's  holy  book ;  on  his  glad  eye 
The  light  beam'd  clear,  while  learning  oft  is  blind, 
For  reas'ning  pride  the  truth  will  ne'er  descry  ; 

'Tis  nought  but  heav'nly  light,  that  guides  man  to 
the  sky. 

31. 

Philosophy  has  toil'd,  but  toil'd  in  vain 
The  erring  steps  to  bring  in  virtue's  way ; 
The  furious  passions  heed  not  such  weak  rein 
As  fitness,  order,  and  the  just  array 
Of  all  related  things ;  we  need  the  sway 
Of  mighty  arm  to  punish  and  to  bless, — 
The  threats,  that  carry  to  proud  heart  dismay, — 
The  promises  of  endless  happiness, — 

And  love  divine  to  melt  our  heart's  strange  stub 
bornness. 


CANTO   I.  87 

32. 

0  bootless  boast  of  vain  philosophy 
From  error's  chain  to  disenthrall  the  mind, 
And  wretched  heart,  enslav'd  to  sin,  set  free  ! 
In  Greece  and  Rome,  by  ev'ry  art  refined, 
Philosophy  no  idol-victim  did  unbind, 
Nor  misplac'd  prayer,  from  God  withheld,  set 

right. 

In  France  she  fought  a  battle  of  the  blind, 
And  seem'd  to  triumph  in  the  darksome  fight ; 
But  error  never  dies,  till  truth  from  heav'n  shines 
bright. 

33. 

As  in  the  gloom  of  night  the  thief  knows  well 
To  creep  along,  like  silent  graveyard  shade, 
And  lustful  paramour  and  assassin  fell 
Do  then  both  innocence  and  life  invade  ; 
So,  when  the  blessed  truth  of  heav'n  is  stayed, 
And  ignorance  prevails,  then  error  walks, 
And  priestcraft  plies  its  soul-destroying  trade  ; 
Then  terrifying  superstition  stalks, 
Or  atheism  the  aim  of  heav'nty  mercy  balks. 


38  VALE   OF  HOOSATUNNUK. 

34. 

Nor  is  the  aim  of  truth  fulfill'd  by  pride, 
Which,  as  it  views  the  nations  of  the  earth, 
Their  stupid  idol-worship  may  deride, 
Yet  finds  at  home  of  holy  deeds  a  dearth. 
The  name  of  Christian  is  of  little  worth, 
And  boast  of  light  divine  can  nought  avail, 
Unless,  as  Jesus  taught,  a  heav'nly  birth 
The  wickedness  of  nature  countervail, 
And  love  to  God  and  man  o'er  selfishness  prevail. 

35. 

All  this  Mohekun's  heart  had  felt  and  known, 
For  Sergeant,  with  a  faithful  pastor's  care, 
Had  preach'd  full  oft  of  God's  terrific  throne, 
From  which    the    blazing,  vengeful   lightnings 

glare, 

Smiting  the  wicked  down  to  deep  despair : 
And  oft  he  preach'd  the  Saviour's  wondrous  love, 
As  seen,  when  hanging  on  the  cross  in  air, 
And  by  allurements  strong  he  often  strove 
To  guide  into  the  path,  that  leads  to  heav'n  above. 


CANTO   I.  39 

36. 

Nor  did  the  youth  alone  his  path  pursue  : 
Among  the  travellers  in  the  pleasant  way 
Wunnissoo  walk'd  with  cheerful  heart  and  true, 
Her  eye  e'er  fix'd  on  realms  of  endless  day. 
'  'Tis  therefore  that  I  love  thee,' — he  would  say, — 
'  For  surely,  wert  thou  still  in  pagan  gloom, 
Undeck'd  with  Christian  virtue's  sweet  array, 
Unfit  to  join  the  blest  in  day  of  doom, 

Thy  image  fair  should  not  within  my  heart  find 
room.' 

37. 

That  there  was  then  a  fellowship  of  love 
Between  the  two  will  not  awake  surprise, 
Nor  that  by  rites,  which  God  and  man  approve, 
The  two  perchance  were  bound  in  strongest  ties, 
Unbroken  until  one  shall  gain  the  skies. 
O,  Milton  !  Thou  couldst  sing  of  this  sweet  bond, 
"When  Eve  and  Adam  walk'd  in  paradise  ; 
But.  like  a  priest  estrang'd  from  speech  well 
conn'd, 

Thy  practice  to  thy  glorious  song  did  not  respond. 


-10  VALE    OF   HOOSATUNNUK. 

38. 

O,  blessed  union  of  devoted  hearts, 
Of  equal  state  and  not  discordant  taste, 
Intent  on  good,  which  Christian  faith  imparts  ! 
They  gather  joys  e'en  from  the  dreary  waste 
Of  care,  and  pain,  and  grief.     Though  time  may 

haste 

To  bear  them  far  from  life's  short  weal  and  woe  ; 
Yet  brighter  visions,  than  by  poet  traced, 
As  fairy  scenes  in  his  rapt  vision  grow, — 
Visions  of  heav'nly  bliss  do  cheer  them,  as  they  go. 

39. 

But  fancy's  rapid  wing  should  be  restrained, 
Nor  leave  my  slow-pac'd  narrative  behind ; — 
As  yet  this  happy  union  is  not  gained, 
Although  their  hearts  the  bands  of  love  do  bind. 
Misled  by  hope,  while  to  the  future  blind, 
How  oft  are  phantoms  to  our  eye  displayed  ? 
Then  let  me  now  resume  with  balanc'd  mind 
My  pleasant  task,  and  sing  with  zeal  allayed 
Of  young  Wunnissoo,  Hoosatunnuk's  lovely  maid. 


CANTO   I.  41 

40. 

Her  fingers  ne'er  had  touch'd  the  fluttering  keys 
Of  costly  instrument,  nor  strings  of  lyre  ; 
Yet  she  could  wake  a  melody  to  please, 
And  charm  the  ear  with  psalmist's  holy  fire. 
Let  others  listen  to  the  numerous  choir, 
Who  pour  the  flood  of  harmony  along ; — 
The  strain  of  single  voice  is  my  desire, — 
A  tender  heart  the  prompter  of  the  song, 

And  truth  and  goodness  flowing  from  a  maiden's 
tongue. 

41. 

Oft  with  her  holy  notes  of  joy  and  praise 
The  deepest  solitude  of  woods  would  ring, 
As  though  a  hidden  thrush  did  pour  her  lays, 
Or  robin  in  a  grove  did  sweetly  sing. 
O,  solitude !  of  blessed  thoughts  the  spring, 
Thy  artless,  heart-sprung  hymns  are  heard  on 

high, 

While  e'en  the  temple's  labor'd  offering, 
For  man  design'd,  can  never  reach  the  sky : — 

In  vain  in  ear  of  God  is  heartless  minstrelsy. 


42  VALE   OF   HOOSATUNNUK. 

42. 

Yet  oft  with  others'  notes  her  own  were  joined, 
When  sympathetic  flame  of  goodness  blazed ; 
But  still  'twas  worship  of  the  heart  and  mind, 
Sincere,  as  when  the  first  disciples  gazed 
On  form,  soon  on  the  cross  to  be  upraised, 
And  in  a  final  hymn  outpour'd  their  souls. 
Let  not  such  simple  hymning  be  dispraised 
By  men,  whom  flute  or  viol  soft  controls, 
For  whom  the  wordless  organ's  tide  of  music  rolls. 

43. 

Hers  was  a  poet's  soul ;  yet  idle  strains, — 
Blending  wild  errors  with  the  purest  truth, 
Commingling  fantasies  of  heathen  brains 
With  moral,  Christian  themes,  as  oft,  in  sooth, 
In  far-fam'd  modern  bards  we  find  with  ruth, — 
She  could  not  sing.     Her  teacher's  prudent  care 
Had  warn'd  her  of  this  fault  of  giddy  youth 
And  older  poets  too.     'I  will  declare,' — 
He  said, — 'the  master's  rules,  which  form'd  such 
minstrels  rare ! 


CANTO    I.  43 

44. 

'  Invoke  Apollo  first,  Latona's  son, 
God  of  the  vig'rous  bow  and  sounding  lyre, 
Whose  well-aim'd  arrows  sudden  vict'ry  won 
O'er  serpent  Python,  fierce  and  breathing  fire  ; — 
Where  fell  the  monster  by  his  vengeful  ire, 
There,  on  Parnassus'  bill,  a  temple  rose, 
Sacred  to  him ;  and  there  did  he  inspire 
The  Pythian  priestess  in  her  raving  throes, 
And  utter'd  Delphic  oracles  in  verse  and  prose. 

45. 

'  Next  ask  the  Muses,' — Aonian  Muses'  aid, — 
Pierian  Muses, — all  the  Sisters  nine, 
Who  trip  it  lightly  in  Parnassian  shade, 
Led  by  Apollo :  see  how  they  combine 
All  lib'ral  arts,  that  soften  and  refine, 
But  chiefly  poetry,  of  arts  the  first, 
Infusing  in  the  soul  the  gift  divine  : 
They  hold  the  springs,  for  which  all  poets  thirst, 
And  give  the  harmonies,  which  from  the  lyre  do 
burst. 


44  VALE    OF   HOOSATUNNUK. 

46. 

'  Speak  of  Pierian  mount  in  Thessaly, — 
Of  spring  Pierian,  gushing  from  the  hill, — 
Nor  less  of  Pindus'  height,  that  seeks  the  sky, 
And  fount  of  Pindus  and  inspiring  rill ; — 
Castalia  too,  where  poet  drinks  his  fill : 
Forget  not  the  Boeotian  eminence, 
And  Heliconian  stream,  that  flows  there  still ; 
And  ask  to  drink  of  all  with  thirst  intense : 
Let  dull  bards  seek  the  inspiration  of  good  sense. 

47. 
'  Ne'er  speak  of  moon  ; — say  Cynthia  rides  her 

car, 

Or  Luna  or  Diana  shows  her  face  ; 
For  sun  say  Sol,  or  Phoebus  from  afar 
Beams  on  the  world,  revealing  ev'ry  grace  ; 
Instead  of  spring  Vertumnus  must  have  place, 
Pomona's  husband  after  much  delay ; 
Or  charming  goddess  Flora  you  may  trace, 
Zephyrus'  wife,  whose  wreathed  flowers  display 
Each  beauteous  form  and  all  the  varied  hues  of  day. 


CANTO   I.  45 

48. 

'  When  yellow  harvest  makes  the  farmer  glad, 
'Tis  Ceres  crowns  the  joyous,  fruitful  year  ; 
When  danger  makes  the  storm-rock'd  sailor  sad, 
'Tis  Neptune  rages  with  his  three-prong'd  spear ; 
That  warrior  works  the  will  of  Mars  is  clear ; 
'Tis  Juno  sends  the  drizzling  show'r  from  heaven, 
And  Bacchus  gives  the  tippler  his  good  cheer ; 
When  lightning  gleams  from  clouds,  by  tempests 

driven, 
By  bolt  of  Jupiter  the  gnarled  oak  is  riven. 

49. 

1  The  Nymphs  forget  not,  thousand  Nymphs  of  sea 
And  land ;  the  Dryads,  that  frequent  the  wood, 
And  Oreads,  that  trip  the  mountains  free  ; 
The  Naiads  too,  who  love  the  solitude, 
Where  fountains  flow,  or  brooks  in  brawling  mood ; 
The  lovely  Nereids  in  their  ocean-cave, 
Where  lawless  foot  ne'er  ventures  to  intrude, — 
Nereids,  whom  sailors,  when  they  tempt  the  wave, 
Beg  to  preserve  from  deep,  cold,  drear,  and  sunless 
grave. 


46  VALE    OF   HOOSATUNNUK. 

50. 

'  But  last,  not  least,  let  Venus  be  addressed, — 
Goddess  of  smiles  and  beauty,  queen  of  love, 
By  all  in  heav'n  and  all  in  earth  caressed, 
With  sacred  claim  to  myrtle,  rose,  and  dove  ; 
Whose  form  the  Grecian  statuaries  strove 
In  vain  to  bring  out  from  the  marble  pure ; — 
Venus,  attended  by  the  son  of  Jove, 
The  winged  Cupid,  infant  sly,  demure, 
Whose  shaft  inflicts  a  wound,  no  medicine  can  cure. 

51. 

4  Such  seem  the  rules,  to  modern  poets  given ; 
And  all  this  folly  and  impiety 
Is  sung  by  lips,  which  know  the  truth  of  heaven. 
The  ancient  Bards  were  honest.     To  their  eye 
Bright  gods  appeared  in  ocean,  earth,  and  sky. 
They  worshipp'd  whom  they  sung.     But  poets 

now 

Attune  their  harp  to  phantom  of  a  lie. 
Shall  truth,  and  sense,  and  reason  cease  to  flow 
From  hearts,  which  with  sincere  and  holy  fervors 

glow?' 


CANTO   I.  47 

52. 

Mohekun  from  the  bark  of  birch  laid  low, — 
What  time  the  winged  songsters  fill  the  grove, — 
Had  form'd  a  light  canoe  with  double  prow, 
Full  swift  along  the  silent  lake  to  move, 
As  new  moon  floats  in  azure  sea  above. 
The  bark  was  launch'd,  and  on  the  waters  flung, 
When  seated  by  the  maid,  whom  he  did  love, 
He  struck  the  oar,  and  notes  responsive  rung, 
For  thus  with  sweetest,  warning  voice  Wunnissoo 
sung : — 

'  I  will  sail,  for  the  sky  is  now  clear, 
And  my  bark  longs  to  fly  from  this  coast.' — 

But  whither  your  course  will  you  steer  ? 
For  the  ocean  is  wide,  and  by  tempests  oft  tost, 
And  your  shallop,  unguided,  in  the  deep  may  be 
lost. 

'  I  will  steer  for  renown  and  for  Fame, 
And  proudly  in  harbor  will  ride.' 

Beware,  lest  you  enter  in  shame, 
Like  a  bird,  that  is  clipp'd  of  her  feathers  and  pride, 
Your  canvas  blown  off,  and  your  masts  by  the  side. 


48  VALE   OP  HOOSATUNNUK. 

'  Then  I'll  aim  at  the  land  of  Delight, 
Where  joy  o'er  my  senses  shall  play.' — 

Alas !  if  the  sirens  in  sight 
Shall  draw  you  to  shore,  and  charm  by  their 

lay, 
In  the  port  of  delight  your  life  will  they  slay. 

'  Then  lofty  ambition  shall  guide 
My  shallop  to  harbor  of  Power.' — 

Know  you  not,  that  great  perils  betide  ? 
'Tis  a  coast,  where  the  tempests  in   fury  do 

pour, 

And   the  wrecks  lie  along  the  high,  rocky 
shore. 

'  For  the  mart  of  the  world  I  will  sail, 
And  come  freighted  with  Silver  and  Gold.' — 

.  Deep  loaded,  your  vessel  will  fail ; 
Then  down  you  will  go  with  your  riches  untold, 
And  the  caves  of  the  deep  all  your  treasures  shall 
hold. 


CANTO    I.  49 

*  I  will  steer  for  bright  Learning's  fair  land, 
Where  the  waves  and  the  billows  ne'er  roll.' — 
You  should  know,  there  are  corsairs  at  hand ; 
They  may  board,  when  a  calm  quells  the  pilot's 

control, 

And  with  sharp,  bloody  knife  may  pierce  to  your 
soul. 

'  Then  I'll  steer  for  Domestic  Repose, 
Where  glisten  the  eyes  of  delight.' — 

'Tis  well :  but  those  eyes  death  may  close, 
And  no  kindly  emotion  spring  again  from  their 

light, 

While  their  beauty  is  lost  in  the  grave's  dreary 
night. 

Then  away  from  earth's  region  depart, 
And  steer  for  the  Heaven  of  rest : 

Be  the  gospel  your  compass  and  chart ; 
Then  no  quicksands  nor  rocks  your  course  shall 

arrest, 

And  you'll  enter  the  port,where  Immortals  are  blest. 
4 


\t  Hale  nf  Iteatmnrak. 


CANTO   II. 


WUNNISSOO, 


THE  VALE  OF  HOOSATUNNUK. 


CANTO    II. 
1. 

'Tis  task,  that  needs  of  quenchless  zeal  the  sway, 
On  pagan  mind  truth's  holy  light  to  shed, 
And  misform'd,  grisly  shapes  to  chase  away, 
"Which  in  dark  superstition's  caves  are  bred, 
And  as  they  stalk  along  do  terrors  spread. 
Such  wild'ring  shapes    throng'd   Hoosatunnuk's 

vale, 

And  nature's  boasted  children  there  misled. 
Yet  Sergeant's  zeal  did  o'er  the  throng  prevail 
By  patient  toil  and  prayer,  whose  power  can  never 

fail. 


54  VALE   OF   HOOSATUNNUK. 

2. 

Unpitying  are  the  rites  of  mortals  blind, 

That  grope  in  heathen  gloom  their  doubtful  way : 

They  all  the  sweetest  ties  of  life  unbind, 

And  cast  the  purest  sympathies  away. 

Thus  he,  who  held  o'er  Argive  chiefs  the  sway, 

When  bent   his   course  'gainst   Priam's  lofty 

towers, 

His  beauteous  daughter  did  with  sternness  slay, 
A  cruel  victim  to  th'  imagin'd  powers, — 
Fair  Iphigenia  in  her  blooming,  gaysome  hours. 

3. 

Habits  of  crime  and  wild'ring  pagan  rites 
Have  fix'd  their  roots  deep  in  the  savage  mind. 
The  pleasant  tale,  which  eloquence  indites, 
Of  man  of  Nature  virtuous,  gentle,  kind, 
Unshackled  by  hard  laws,  which  others  bind, 
With  native  grace,  like  untrimm'd  forest-grove, 
Whose  foliage  waves  in  summer's  softest  wind, — 
Is  but  a  web  of  slend'rest  goss'mer  wove : 
It  will  not  bear  the  touch,  which  would  its  texture 
prove. 


CANTO   II.  55 

4. 

The  deist,  whom  no  truths  reveal'd  can  please, 
May  boast  of  nature's  beams  and  reason's  might, 
Like  simple  child,  who  thinks  the  sun  might  cease 
To  shine  by  day,  when  all  the  world  is  light. 
On  Greek  and  Eoman  minds  was  there  a  blight, 
That  they  saw  not  what  now,  in  sooth,  is  seen 
Without  a  ray  from  heav'n  ?     Was  their  sharp 

sight 

Than  that  of  modern  infidels  less  keen, 
That  they  of  God  could  not  discern  the  form  and 
mien? 

5. 

'Mid  western  seas  the  coral  isles  were  deemed 
Isles  of  the  blest,  where  gentleness  bore  sway ; 
But  truth  on  fiction's  page  at  length  hath  gleamed, 
And  fancied  forms  of  good  have  fled  away. 
Instead  of  these  behold,  in  dread  array, 
Each  raging  passion  free  from  virtue's  band, 
The  sacrifice  of  men  to  gods  of  clay, 
Slaughter  of  infants  by  a  mother's  hand, 
And  ruthless  wars,  whose  victims  lie  along  the 
strand. 


56  VALE    OP   HOOSATUNNUK. 

6. 

Go,  where  you  will,  through  all  this  wide-spread 

sphere, 

From  Greenland's  ice-bound  shore  and  hills  of  snow 
To  southern  Patagonia's  coast  most  drear  ; 
Pass  with  the  sun  o'er  all  he  views  below, — 
O'er  Afric's  burning  zone  and  India's  glow, 
O'er  all  the  beauteous  isles  of  east  and  west, 
Where  verdure  lives  and  fragrant  breezes  blow ; — 
Bring  all  men  to  religion's  clearest  test ; — 

All,  without  light  from  heav'n,  are  wanderers  un- 
blest. 

7. 

E'en  in  the  pleasant  vale,  of  which  I  sing, 
There  was  a  plenteous  growth  of  sin,  and  fear, 
And  superstitious  rites,  which  always  spring, 
Where  culture  fails  each  heav'nly  plant  to  rear. 
Though  milder  was  the  form  of  error  here, 
Than  oft  is  seen,  where  pagan  follies  grow, 
Yet  nought  of  peaceful  worship  did  appear, 
And  sacrificcr's  knife  laid  victim  low, — 

A  proof  of  conscious  guilt  and  dread  of  vengeful 
blow. 


CANTO   II.  57 

8. 

As  once  beheld,  their  rites  did  thus  begin : — 
A  rough,  bark  altar,  plac'd  on  wigwam's  floor, 
The  flesh  of  deer  as  offering  for  sin, — 
The  flesh  with  skin  and  horns, — in  order  bore. 
Dark  faces  round  the  gloomy  cabin  lower : 
Over  the  deer  an  aged  priest  then  stood, 
And  thus  he  pray'd — '  O,  thou  Almighty  Power, 
We  offer  this  to  thee,  the  source  of  good, 

And  pray  thee  guard  us  well,  and  give  us  sleep  and 
food.' 

9. 

The  prayer  o'er,  the  priest  then  rais'd  a  shout, 
As  if  to  wake  the  deity's  dull  ear  : 
And  next  the  boiled  flesh  was  serv'd  about, 
And  all  with  joyful  hearts  partook  the  cheer : 
A  string  of  wampum  was  the  fee  of  seer ; 
The  skin  and  slender  feet,  which  late  were  free, 
To  widow  given,  drew  a  grateful  tear ; — 
Thus  nature  taught  these  heathens,  as  we  see, 

Though  join'd   with   absurd    rites,   the    deed    of 
charity. 


58  VALE    OF  HOOSATUNNUK. 

10. 

Were  this  the  whole,  their  worship  well  might 

shame 

The  homage  paid  to  countless  gods  of  old, 
To  idol  gods  of  high  and  humble  name, 
Carv'd  out  of  wood,  and  stone,  and  brass,  and  gold, 
And  cast,  as  fancy  led,  in  various  mould  ; 
For  here  the  tribute  of  the  heart  was  paid 
To  the  Good  Spirit,  source  of  joys  untold. 
Yet  to  the  Evil  Spirit  prayer  was  made, 
With  name  of  Hobbamock  or  Mattandoo  arrayed. 

11. 

Him  would  they  worship  not  from  love  but  fear, 
To  avert  impending  ills,  or  to  prevent 
Failure  of  game,  as  beaver,  moose,  and  deer, 
Or  wasting  sickness,  in  his  anger  sent ; 
And,  when  beneath  a  dire  disease  they  bent, 
A  Powwow's  sorceries  were  quick  employed, — 
Powwow,  the  devil's  priest  and  implement, — 
As  though,  by  incantations  strange  decoyed, 
Diseases  would  forsake  the  wretches,  they  destroyed. 


CANTO   II.  59 

12. 

See,  blazing  high,  the  wigwam's  central  fire, 
While  fiendish  shapes  dance  round  with  antic 

gait, 

Led  by  the  Powwow  in  his  wild  attire, — 
A  bear-skin  robe  for  gravity  and  state, 
With  paws  outstretch'd  ;  upon  his  head  elate 
A  solemn  owl,  while  dangling  from  his  ears 
Are  snake-skins  stufPd.     The  minister  of  fate 
Now  hoots  and  growls,  and  wakes  terrific  fears, 
Then  throws  into  the  flame  the  sacrifice,  he  bears. 

13. 

The  dance,  and  shout,  and  maniac  revelry, 
With  prayer  to  Mattandoo,  and  various  spell 
Of  dark,  unutterable  sorcery 
To  curb  the  plague,  or  tide  of  war  to  quell, 
They  deem'd  fit  homage  to  the  prince  of  hell : 
From  him  were  sent  the  tempest  and  disease, 
And  all  the  num'rous  ills,  which  them  befell ; 
It  were  then  wise  his  pow'rful  wrath  t'  appease, 
And  worship  pay,  which  might  the  angry  Spirit 
please. 


60  VALE   OF  nOOSATUNNUK. 

14. 

We  pity  such  delusion,  but  perchance 
Delusion  wilder  still  our  minds  may  hold  ; 
And  e'en  the  pagan  yells  and  giddy  dance 
May  shame  the  Christian  impious  and  bold, 
Who  dares  from  God  true  worship  to  withhold. 
If  morning's  glorious  sun  and  evening's  shade 
No  homage  to  Jehovah  shall  unfold 
In  that  great  day,  when  secrets  are  displayed, 

Far  more  than  pagans  will  such  Christians  be  dis 
mayed. 

15. 

I  said,  the  good  man's  ceaseless  pray'r  and  toil 
O'er  wild'ring  superstition  did  prevail. 
And  yet  to  rouse  the  serpent  in  his  coil 
Was  perilous.     The  Powwow's  trade  would  fail, 
The  dupes   beneath    his    arts   would  cease   to 

quail, 

And  much-lov'd  revelry  would  pass  away, 
If  truth  should  shine  on  Hoosatunnuk's  vale. 
Hence  mists  at  first  obscur'd  the  heav'nly  ray ; 

But  thickest  fogs  are  scatter'd  by  the  orb  of  day. 


CANTO   II.  61 

16. 

An  Indian  Council  was  conven'd,  when  now 
The  teacher  for  himself  a  house  would  rear, 
If  they  his  lasting  settlement  allow, 
And  with  him  a  few  friends,  his  life  to  cheer, 
And  them  to  guide  in  industry  severe. — 
Did  they  the  residence  of  whites  desire  ? 
And  would  they  all  the  blessed  gospel  hear  ? 
When  gather'd  round  the  blazing  council-fire, 
A  silver-headed  man  first  rose  and  spake  with  ire  : — 

17. 

'  I  am  an  aged  hemlock  ;  and  the  winds 
Of  fourscore  winters  through  my  branches  strong 
Have  whistled ;   sickness  now  my  strength  un 
binds, 

And  I  shall  fall,  like  tree  decay'd,  ere  long, 
Outpouring  on  the  winds  my  dying  song. 
Then,  children  !  hear ; — the  Spirit  great  and  good 
Hath  White  and  Red  men  made :  to  us  belong 
These  lands  ;  to  them  the  lands  o'er  big,  salt  flood ; 
Then  wherefore   on  our  hunting-grounds  do  they 
intrude  ? 


62  VALE    OP   HOOSATUNNUK. 

18. 

<  They  came,  and  from  our  fathers  took  their  land ; 
We  melted  like  the  snow  in  warm,  south  wind  ; 
Like  deer  we  fled  from  white  man's  faithless  hand  ; 
But  still  they  follow  ;  our  retreat  they  find, 
And  with  their  cheating  words  our  eyes  would  blind. 
Children  !  they  want  our  lands,  they  want  our 

game, 

Though  here  in  narrow  nook  we  live  confined  : 
Our  sacred  dance  will  cease,  and  Indian  name 

Will  soon  be  lost  and  dead,  and  Indian  pride  be 
shame ! ' 

19. 

He  ceas'd,  and  after  silence  'due,  for  ne'er 
Does  Red  man  interrupt  another's  speech, 
A  dark-brow'd  Prophet  claim'd  the  Council's  ear  : 
'  Brothers !  the  Whites  our  ignorance  would  teach, 
And'holy  gospel  they  pretend  to  preach  ; 
But  their  own  Book  do  they  themselves  obey  ? 
Are  robin's  notes  e'er  heard  in  owl's  wild  screech  ? 
Can  they,  who  cheat,  lead  us  in  honest  way  ? 

Brothers  !  beware,  or  to  the  wolf  ye  fall  a  prey. 


CANTO    II.  63 

20. 

'  Where  once  arose  our  fathers'  wigwam's  smoke, 
There  now  are  cities,  by  the  White  men  reared : 
The  chain  of  friendship  they  have  falsely  broke, 
And  old  Mohegan  rank  has  disappeared. 
Full  soon  our  fathers'  fate,  though  now  unfeared, 
Will  surely  be  our  own,  if  we  allow 
The  White   men   here  to   come.      The  forests 

cleared, 

Our  hunter's  trade  will  cease,  and  we  must  bow 
Like  women  to  the  hoe,  or    White    men    to    the 
plough. ' 

21. 

Then  rose  the  Christian  chief,  and  made  reply : 
'  Brothers  !  in  crooked  path  and  darksome  night 
I  once  did  walk  ;  no  light  was  in  my  eye  ; 
But  now  my  path  is  straight ;  the  sun  shines  bright ; 
The  good  Book  shows  my  path  ;  it  leads  me  right. 
Brothers  !  the  old  Mohegan  tree  is  dead, 
And  fall'n  ;  gone  is  our  fathers'  val'rous  might : 
Far  from  their  sepulchres  we  hither  fled, 
And  now  the  num'rous  White  men  are  around  us 
spread. 


64  VALE    OF   HOOSATUNNUK. 

22. 

'  Brothers  !  when  soon  our  game  shall  disappear, 
Where  shall  we  find  our  children's  needful  food  ? 
Now  to  my  words  attend  with  list'ning  ear ; — 
We  have  a  pleasant  vale  ;  our  lands  are  good, 
On  which  we  now  bestow  but  culture  rude  ; 
The  Spirit  Great  will  have  us  learn  to  plough 
And  sow  ;  let  us  obey  with  gratitude  ; 
He  sends  us  too  his  Book,  that  we  may  know 
The  path  to  heav'n  above  :  in  that  path  let  us  go. ' 

23. 

Reason  prevail'd :  when  finish'd  was  debate, 
Th'    assembly's    voice,    by    Sachem's    counsel 

sway'd, 

Welcom'd  the  Christian  guide  to  happier  state, 
While  angry  Powwows  shrunk  away  dismayed, 
Foreseeing  well  the  end  of  juggler's  trade. 
Oh,  when  shall  reason  all  such  frauds  untwine, 
And  truth  the  Moslem  prophet's  gloom  invade, 
And  pour  its  flood  of  hope  and  bliss  divine 
On   ev'ry  land,  on    which  the  glorious  sun  doth 
shine  ? 


CANTO    II.  65 

24. 

O,  happy  Indians,  with  such  teacher  blest ! 
Teacher  of  truth  and  not  of  fraudful  tale, 
By  monks  invented  in  their  idle  nest. 
Ah,  what  do  strange  and  monstrous  lies  avail, 
To  cause  the  stern  and  wicked  will  to  quail, 
Or  touch  the  finer  movements  of  the  soul  ? 
Fables  in  vain  the  love  of  sin  assail, 
And  aim  the  raging  passions  to  control : 
For  this  the  truth  divine  her  pages  must  unroll. 

25. 

The  simple  truth  of  God  he  plainly  taught 
In  gentle  accents  and  with  ceaseless  care ; 
But  popish  legends,  with  false  marvels  fraught, 
In  wond'ring  ear  he  wish'd  not  to  declare ; — 
Such  as  the  tale  of  English  hermit  Clare, 
By  baffled  lady  doom'd  to  assassin's  blow, 
"Whose  sever'd  head  the  headless  trunk  did 

bear, 

And  plunge  into  a  crystal  fountain  low, 
Then  carried  to  his  cell,  before  his  life  did  flow ! 
5 


66  VALE    OF   HOOSATDNNUK. 

26. 

Nor  yet  St.  Dunstan's  wondrous  deed  of  fame, 
When  tried,  as  others  oft  have  tempted  been, 
By  Satan,  hid  beneath  fair  woman's  frame  ; 
When  him  the  smiling  face  would  draw  to  sin, 
The  saint  the  rarest  victory  did  win ; — 
With  red-hot  tongs  he  seiz'd  the  pretty  snout, 
And  firmly  held  the  demon,  till  the  din 
Of  his  loud  roaring  was  diffus'd  about, 
And  all  the  neighbors  flock'd  to  see  the  merry  rout !' 

27. 

Nor  did  he  tell  St.  Ivo's  tale  aloud  ; — 
The  ghost  requir'd  an  abbot  to  bestow 
On  his  neglected  bones  a  burial  proud, 
Who  said — 'a  cobbler's  bones  for  aught  I  know  ! 
His  paleness  yielding  to  indignant  glow, 
The    ghost    return'd,    and    said    with   sternest 

air — 

'  A  cobbler  I  am  call'd  by  thee ;  and  lo, 
A  pair  of  boots  I  bring,  which  thou  must  wear 
In  punishment  of  thy  reproach  for  many  a  year ! ' 


CANTO   II.  67 

28. 

"When  straight  the  spirit-cobbler  seem'd  to  draw 
Upon  his  legs  the  boots  with  tort'ring  strain, 
Then  sunk  away,  as  snow  melts  in  a  thaw. 
The  abbot  from  that  hour  ne'er  walk'd  again  ; 
A  miracle,  that  brought  the  monks  of  Ramsey 

gain. 

"Whether  a  vision  or  a  real  scene, 
A  gouty  abbot  must  endure  much  pain  ; 
And  boots  like  his,  now  worn,  may  oft  be  seen, 
By  spirit  too  drawn  on  the  swollen  legs,  I  ween. 

29. 

'Tis  dark  and  pitiable  sight  to  see 
The  Indian  converts  unto  popery  made, — 
When  new  succeeds  to  old  idolatry, 
The  heart  by  love  of  God  and  man  unswayed, 
The  life  with  Christian  virtues  unarrayed. — 
Six  hundred  such  on  eastern  streams  of  Maine 
Still  breathe  the  air :  their  ancient  rank  decayed, 
And  nought  acquir'd,  they  savages  remain : 
In  penury  and  sin  they  pass  their  days  in  pain. 


68  VALE    OF   HOOSATDNNUK. 

30. 

They  long  in  Catholic  church  have  been  enrolled, 
And  may  at  Rome  be  reckon'd  converts  blest. 
If  such  the  converts,  pompously  extolled, 
By  Jesuit  zeal  secur'd  in  east  and  west, — 
The  boasted  millions,  who  the  cross  confessed, — 
Converts  untaught,  undeck'd  with  virtue's  mien, — 
I  know  not,  that  the  pagan  state  unblest 
Was  chang'd  to  happier  or  to  brighter  scene, 

For  empty  Christian  name  from  judgment  cannot 
screen. 

81. 

The  Hoosatunnuk  Christians  were  not  such ; 
But  taught  to  read  and  think ;  and  from  the  page 
Of  sacred  writ  of  truth  they  learned  much, 
Needful  to  guide  the  youth  and  cheer  old  age, 
Of  pow'r  the  sharpest  sorrows  to  assuage, 
And  loftiest  hopes  to  build  up  in  the  mind. 
Though  all  were  not  reclaimed  from   passion's 

rage 
And  to  each  good  and  virtuous  deed  inclined, 

Yet  heav'nly  light  was  shed  on  many  of  the  blind. 


CANTO    II.  G9 

32. 

The  Protestant  boasts  not  a  warmer  zeal, 
Than  sway'd  the  Jesuit  bands,  as  forth  they  went, 
With  politic  design,  where'er  the  wheel 

• 

Of  commerce  rolls, — to  western  continent, 
Threading  the  northern  wilds  with  hardiment, 
Where  roaming  savages  pursued  their  game, 
Ascending  stream  of  Paraguay,  intent 
Midst  southern  boundless  plains  to  rear  a  name, — 
Or  to  the  farthest  east  Eome's  fables  to  proclaim. 

33. 

'Tis  low  and  worthless  zeal,  if  all  designed 
A  worldly  scheme  of  pow'r  and  wealth  to  rear ; 
Hence  pliant  maxims,  by  no  rules  confined, 
And  base  betrayal  of  the  truth  severe. 
Such  was  the  Jesuit  teaching  far  and  near ; — 
In  China  tol'rant  to  idolatry  ; 
In  Europe  soothing  titled  guilt ;  and  here 
Urging  the  savage  to  his  revelry, 
Kindling  the  wasting  flame  of  war,  which  blaz'd  on 
high. 


70  VALE    OF   HOOSATUNNUK. 

34. 

A  purer  zeal  burn'd  in  the  holy  heart 
Of  Eliot,  faithful  guide  in  upward  way 
Of  his  dear  Natick  flock  ;  while  to  impart 
In  their  rude  tongue  the  Book  of  heav'nly  ray 
He  toils  with  giant  force  from  day  to  day, 
Till  work  unequall'd  was  completely  wrought. 
A  purer  zeal  the  Mayhews  did  o'ersway, — 
Successive  races  of  congenial  thought, — 

Who  on  the  Island- Vineyard  num'rous  Indians 
taught. 

35. 

The  noblest  charity,  th'  uncheck'd  control 
Of  purer  zeal  was,  holy  Brainerd  !  thine, — 
Of  feeble  frame  but  with  an  angel's  soul, 
Too  soon,  alas,  remov'd,  in  heav'n  to  shine. 
Such  zeal  was  Wheelock's,  whose  enlarg'd  design 
Would  rear  the  teachers  of  the  Indian  wild  : 
A  School  he  planted,  which  like  thriving  vine 
Did  rapid  grow,  and  in  the  desert  smiled  ; 

And  Dartmouth's  bow'rs  display  his  honors  unde- 
filed. 


CANTO   II.  71 

36. 

Were  these  Rome's  merchants,  traffickers  for  gain, 
Agents  for  despot,  builders  of  his  throne  ? 
Oh  no  ;  but  they  did  pass  their  days  in  pain 
And  ceaseless  toil  from  charity  alone, 
Pitying  the  darkness,  in  which  truth  ne'er  shone. 
Nor  did  they  toil  without  a  harvest  fair, 
For  wanderers  to  holy  path  were  won, 
Which  the  great  day,  I  doubt  not,  will  declare, 
And  show  the  noble  zeal  and  perseverance  rare. 

37. 

I  envy  not  the  monarch's  golden  crown, 
Nor  honors,  which  proud  victor  may  receive ; 
Nor  treach'rous  fame  like  beauteous  bubble  blown, 
Nor  transient  joys,  which  gleam  but  to  deceive, — 
No  good  of  texture  such  as  spiders  weave ; 
But  I  could  wish  to  bear  in  angels'  sight 
The  worth  and  majesty  of  men,  who  leave 
All  earthly  joys  to  spread  the  gospel  light, 
And  pour  the  rays  of  truth  where  all  was  gloomy 
night. 


72  VALE    OF  HOOSATUNNUK. 

38. 

Great  fame  hast  thou,  O  Clive :  on  India's  strand 
Winning  great  vict'ries  o'er  th'  innum'rous  foe, 
And  building  up  for  native,  distant  land 
A  pow'r  o'er  dark-hued  millions  humbled  low  ; 
But  eye  of  friendship  sees  on  Newell's  brow 
And  Hall's,  good  men,  a  more  resplendent  ray, — 
Who  ran  to  heal  the  pitiable  woe 
Of  myriads,  aliens  from  the  blessed  sway 
Of  heav'nly  truth,  which  guides  to  bright,  immortal 
day. 

39. 

By  such  men's  toils,  though  infidel  deride, 
A  holy,  glorious  kingdom  will  be  reared, 
Spreading  through  all  the  earth  its  blessings  wide. 
Then  down  will  sink  the  throne  with  blood  be 
smeared, 

And  sceptre»will  be  wrench'd  from  despot  feared. 
Each  prison  door  will  ope,  and  chains  will  fall, 
As  when  to  Peter  angel  form  appeared, — 
What  time  he  lay  fast  bound  a  wretched  thrall, — 
And  bid  him  walk  forth  free  from  quaking  prison 
wall. 


CANTO   II.  73 

40. 

There  spreads  a  rust  on  slav'ry's  clanking  chain, 
And  weaker  grow  its  hateful  links  each  day, 
As  truth  and  heav'nly  love  prevail.     In  vain 
Will  pride,  and  lust,  and  avarice  assay 
To  hold  o'er  fellow  mortals  tyrant  sway, 
When  reign  of  charity  shall  wide  extend, 
And  senates  shall  be  just.     For  this  we  pray, 
That  tyrants  may  no  more  man's  life-blood  spend, 

Nor  crouching  slaves  before  proud  masters  lowly 
bend. 

41. 

Yet  let  not  Parent- State  reproach  her  child 
For  practising  the  lessons,  which  she  taught, 
And  teaches  still.     By  fraudful  arts  beguiled, 
Subdued  by  pow'r,  or  by  her  treasures  bought, 
Holds  she  not  slaves  ?     By  barb'rous  pressgangs 

caught, 

Her  floating  tow'rs  bear  many  a  slave  along 
O'er  the  wide  sea,  while  backward  runs  the  thought 
To  country's  shore,  to  free  and  happy  throng, 

To  quietude  of  home,  and  plighted  maiden's  song. 


74  VALE    OP  HOOSATUNNUK. 

42. 

Has  she  not  subject  millions  in  the  East, 
Slaves  all  except  in  name,  by  pow'r  brought 

low, 

Bearers  of  burdens,  like  the  caravan-beast  ? 
Let  her  but  once  freedom's  loud  clarion  blow 
Through  all  her  western  isles,  where  fetters  grow 
On  ev'ry  dark-hued  limb  ;  let  her  first  say, 
To  those  she  holds  in  bondage  and  in  woe, 
'  Be  free  and  happy  ! '     Then  indeed  she  may, 

Though  blushing  still,  reprove  her  child,  she  led 
astray. 

43. 

Vain  boast  of  liberty  in  either  State  ! 
All  are  not  free  !     Then  let  the  good  combine 
Their  toils  each  bitter  root  to  extirpate, 
That  round  the  oak  no  fibre  shall  entwine 
Of  pois'nous  weed,  or  serpent-coiling  vine, 
To  check  its  growth  and  shrimp  its  ample  shade. 
Let  ev'ry  chain  be  broke,  whose  links  confine 
Body  or  mind  ;  let  Clarksons  rise  to  invade 

Tnvet'rate  ignorance  and  sin,  that  both  degrade. 


CANTO    II.  75 

44. 

And  truth  and  love  will  triumph  at  the  day, 
Fix'd  by  decree,  by  prophecy  foretold. 
E'en  now  we  see  the  blessed,  dawning  ray, 
And  hear  the  song  of  praise  for  joys  untold 
From  sun-burnt  Afric's  wide-spread  sands  of  gold, 
From  Ceylon's  fragrant  shade  of  cinn'mon  grove, 
From  India's  sultry  clime,  and  Greenland's  cold, 
From  western  wilds,  where  savage  Bed  men 
rove, 

And  from  far  ocean's  isles,  where  late  fierce  foemen 
strove. 

45. 

Ere  long  the  glorious  Sun  of  Righteousness 
Will  fling  abroad  from  clear,  unclouded  skies 
His  beams  on  ev'ry  land  to  cheer  and  bless : 
Idols  will  sink  to  dust,  and  all  the  lies, 
Of  guilt  the  refuge,  vanish  from  the  eyes : 
From  ev'ry  tribe  and  tongue  in  sweet  accord 
Ere  long  the  universal  shout  shall  rise, — 
'  An  end  is  come  to  reign  of  crime  abhorred ; 

All  kingdoms  of  the  earth  are  kingdoms  of  our  Lord ! ' 


76  VALE    OF  HOOSATUNNUK. 

46. 

Ah,  what  avails  all  philosophic  pride 
And  learned  vanity  to  save  the  soul  ? 
The  courses  of  the  stars  may  be  descried, 
And  laws  resolv'd,  by  which  e'en  comets  stroll, 
And  elemental  agents  find  control 
By  human  pow'r ;  all  objects  we  may  name, 
And  rank  in  circles,  that  in  order  roll ; — 
But,  if  we  fail  a  heav'nward  course  to  aim, 
Our  wond'rous  science  is  but  ignorance  and  shame. 

47. 

Nature  has  charms ;  yet  idle  seems  the  toil 
Of  tedious  monographs  of  useless  plant, 
And  sorting  all  th'  incumbents  of  the  soil 
For  show  of  science,  not  for  human  want. 
Nature  has  forms  the  eye  to  charm,  I  grant ; 
Yet  nobler  study  is  the  mind  of  man, — 
"Wisely  on  kindred  beings  to  descant, 
Their  aims,  and  hopes,  and  joys,  and  griefs  to 

scan, 
And  learn  to  flee  each  fatal  rock,  on  which  they  ran. 


CANTO   II.  77 

48. 

0  Byron !  Idol  of  a  giddy  age, 

Thy  secret  fears  and  hopes  fain  would  I  know, 
As  thou  didst  think  of  death. — 'Tis  from  thy  page 

1  learn  thy  aspirations  were  but  low ; — 

Thou  wouldst  have  eagle's  pinions  on  thee  grow 
To  "  cope  with  blast ! "     Wouldst  have  an  eagle's 

eye 

To  gaze  on  glorious  objects  here  below ! 
Wouldst  be  "  a  part "  of  mountain,  wave,  and  sky, 
Pitying  the  "  worldly  phlegm,"  that  cannot  soar  so 

high! 

49. 

O  genius  of  immortal  man,  how  sunk ! 
When  Tully  thought  of  scenes  beyond  the  grave, 
His  spirit  totter'd,  as  with  rapture  drunk, 
Hoping  to  meet  the  hosts  of  good  and  brave, 
To  mingle  in  their  joys,  as  wave  with  wave, 
While  heaves  the  ocean  of  eternity  ! 
The  Christian  too,  whom  Jesus  died  to  save, 
Would  dwell  with  God  and  all  the  blest  on  high, 
And  share  the  bliss,  that  bursts  from  heaven's  rapt 

minstrelsy ! 


78  VALE   OF   HOOSATUNNUK. 

50. 

Poor  earthly  poet,  and  blind,  wand'ring  Childe ! 
A  friendless  spirit  on  the  mountain's  height 
Content  to  be,  or  tost  on  ocean  wild  ! 
Vain  wishes  in  a  feeble,  mortal  wight, 
Destin'd  before  the  throne  of  dazzling  light 
To  give  a  strict  account  of  life's  short  race, 
Of  reason's  check,  and  passion's  utmost  might, 
Of  ev'ry  talent's  use,  and  ev'ry  grace, — 
And  ev'ry  stain,  that  heav'nly  image  doth  efface. 

51. 

A  lovely  woman  once  did  send  a  prayer, 
Pure  as  an  angel's  smile,  to  heav'n  for  thee  ; 
And,  Byron,  thou  didst  feel  her  pious  care, 
Reading  her  pray'r  in  pray'rless  Italy, 
And  saidst  aright, — much  rather  thou  wouldst  be 
Object  of  such  petition,  than  to  shine 
As  Homer,  or  as  Caesar,  gloriously. 
Yet,  smoth'ring  in  thy  lust  the  truth  divine, 
Thou  didst  persist  in  wrong  and  build  th'  porten 
tous  line. 


CANTO   II.  79 

52. 

Yet  other  bards  as  vile  a  web  have  spun, 
Glaring  with  images  unfit  to  see : — 
Great  Dryden  such  pollution  did  not  shun, 
Nor  from  the  taint  are  Cowley's  numbers  free, 
And  thus  e'en  Pope  has  sinn'd  egregiously. 
Curs'd  be  the  strain,  howe'er  with  genius  fraught, 
Which  would  corrupt  the  youthful  fancy's  eye, 
And  send  contagion  to  the  source  of  thought, 
Checking  the  heav'n-ward  aim,  by  holy  gospel 

taught. 

53. 

Yet  there  are  English  minstrels,  from  whose  lyre 
No  vile  Anacreontic  notes  arise, 
Nor  sullen  gleams  of  fierce,  demoniac  fire, 
But  all  is  pure,  like  melody  of  the  skies. 
Thus  Cowper  sung, — a  name,  that  never  dies, — 
And  thus,  congenial  mind,  Montgomery  sings ; 
So  Wordsworth's  song  conies  forth  in  stainless 

guise, 

And  others'  song,  whose  lyre  in  mast'ry  rings, 
Though  weightiest  truth  ne'er  strikes  the  deep- 
ton'd  strings. 


80  VALE   OF  HOOSATUNNOK. 

54. 

From  minstrel's  harp  no  sounds,  which  error  bring, 
Should  ever  reach  the  charm'd  and  list'ning  ear  ; 
For  bards  are  call'd  divine,  and  they  should  sing 
The  truth  divine,  which  angels  love  to  hear : 
Nor  will  the  dread  of  scorn,  nor  melting  tear, 
That  bursts  from  gentle  eye  at  thought  of  woe, 
E'er  change  the  mighty  master's  hand  severe, 
When  call'd  t'  abase  the  proud  and  guilty  brow, 
And  bring  by  needful  terror's  notes  the  scorner  low. 

55. 

And  shall  there  be  no  woe  in  future  world  ? 
Was  this  the  voice  of  Him,  whose  name  is  Truth, 
And  who  th'  appalling  flag  of  wrath  unfurled, 
While  yet  his  loving  heart  was  fill'd  with  ruth  ? 
Was  this  the  voice  of  Him,  in  very  sooth, 
Who  o'er  the  guilty  city  shed  his  tears, 
Warning  both  hoary  age  and  giddy  youth, 
That,  when  the  flaming  day  of  doom  appears, 
The  awful  word  '  Depart '  shall  ring  in  sinner's 
ears? 


CANTO   II.  81 

56. 

Has  he,  who  cannot  swerve,  for  our  affright 
Built  Mormos  up  before  his  children's  eyes, 
And  dealt  denouncements  idle,  false,  and  light  ? — 
'Tis  true  for  guilty  man  the  Saviour  dies, — 
For  all  to  make  atoning  sacrifice  ; 
Yet  on  the  unreclaim'd  offender's  head 
His  expiating  blood  forever  lies. 
The  unbeliever  is  among  the  dead ; 
And  deepest  midnight  gloom  of  wrath  is  o'er  him 
spread. 

57. 

Is  holy  gospel  blessed  gift  of  love  ? 
It  is  to  them,  who  make  its  good  their  choice, 
And  yield  their  hearts  to  influence  from  above. 
It  is  indeed  a  spring  of  heav'nly  joys, — 
A  rain,  which  makes  the  thirsty  earth  rejoice. 
But  though  the  cloud  rich  show'rs  of  blessings 

bear, 

The  blessings  fall  amidst  terrific  voice 
Of  angry  thunder,  and  amidst  the  glare 
And  flashes  of  consuming  bolts,  which  none  may  dare. 
6 


82  VALE   OF   HOOSATUNNUK. 

58. 

With  untam'd  spirit  may  new  bards  arise ; — 
Not  om'nous  meteors,  shooting  wide  dismay, 
Nor,  like  archangel  fallen  from  the  skies, 
Winging  o'er  chaos  their  advent'rous  way, 
On  mischief  bent ;  but  clad  in  bright  array 
Of  truth  and  love,  poets,  that  touch  high  strains, 
Which  well  th'  imperishable  mind  should  sway, — 
The  law  of  holiness,  the  fiery  pains 
Of  sin,  and  good  man's  blest  reward,  which  God 

ordains. 

59. 

Wunnissoo  lov'd  all  Nature's  varying  shapes, — 
The  bubbling   spring    beneath  the   pine   tree's 

shade, — 

The  gliding  brook,  which  in  the  grass  escapes, — 
The  winding  stream,  the  meadow,  and  the  glade. 
She  climb'd  the  jutting  cliff,  yet  undismayed : 
The  deep  blue  sky  was  ocean  of  delight ; 
A  joy  sublime  her  lofty  mind  o'erswayed, 
When  angry  tempest  chang'd  the  day  to  night, 
And  from  the  clouds  there  burst  the  streams  and 

floods  of  light. 


CANTO   II.  83 

60. 

In  the  wide  forest's  awful  solitude, 
In  its  deep  shade,  excluding  noonday  beam, 
She  lov'd  to  stray  in  meditative  mood  ; 
And  here  her  mind  with  solemn  thoughts  would 

teem, 

And  bright  irradiations  round  her  gleam. 
So  in  Dodona's  wood,  hi  ancient  days, 
Where  flow'd  beneath  old  oaks  the  gentle  stream, 
The  torch  unlighted, — classic  fable  says, — 

Brought  to  the  pool,  would  straight  be  kindled  to  a 
blaze. 

61. 

But  nature  gave  her  joy,  because  each  scene 
Awaken'd  visions  of  still  brighter  hue. 
She  thought  of  Him,  now  thron'd  in  world  unseen, 
That  once  as  man  appear'd  to  human  view 
To  bear  correction  to  our  wand'rings  due, 
Whose  pow'r  spread  out  all  glories  to  the  eye  ; — 
Of  Him,  whose  love  to  her  seem'd  fresh  and  new 
By  ev'ry  beauteous  form  in  earth  or  sky, 

And  all  the  grandeur  floating  round  most  gloriously. 


84  VALE   OP   HOOSATUNNUK. 

62. 
'  Bright,  circling  Stars  !'  she  said,  '  high  o'er  my 

head, 

Seeming  to  form,  and  therefore  nam'd  a  "  crown, " 
With  still  more  glorious  wreath  is  He  arrayed, 
Who  once  from  higher  world  to  earth  came  down, 
And  died  for  sins  in  agonies  unknown  ; 
Died  for  our  sins,  that  we  might  ever  shine 
Bright  as  yon  stars,  o'er  heav'n's  expansion  strown. 
Then,  Christian,  let  the  crown,  foretold  as  thine, 
Turn  Lhee  from  vain  pursuits  to  seek  the  bliss  divine.' 

63. 

The  yellow  leaf  of  autumn  on  the  ground 
Is  hid  beneath  the  white  and  mantling  snow  ; 
The  streams  in  icy  fetters  now  are  bound, 
Or  glide  beneath  the  crystal,  clogg'd  and  slow  ; 
Yet  joy  from  cheerful  heart  fails  not  to  flow. 
'Twas  now  that  blessed  period  of  the  year, 
When  Son  of  God  from  heav'n  descended  low 
In  majesty  of  virtue  to  appear  ; 
When  thus  the  maid  did  meditate  and  sing  with 
cheer : — 


CANTO    II.  85 

64. 

Th'  unequall'd  bard,  who  sang  of  Paradise 
Lost  by  the  rebel  act  of  parent-man, 
And  then  restor'd  by  Him,  who  left  the  skies, 
Has  hymn'd  his  natal  day,  when  quick  He  ran 
To  execute  the  high,  mysterious  plan. 
I  too  would  sing  his  birth  in  praises  meet, 
Bringing  such  grateful  present,  as  I  can, 
And  lay  my  off 'ring  at  the  Saviour's  feet ; 
And  Mary's  Son  an  Indian  of  the  west  would  greet. 

HYMN 

ON    THE    NATIVITY    OF     CHRIST. 

IT  was  a  peaceful  night, 

And  stars  were  beaming  bright, 

And  Judah's  fertile  vales  and  fields  were  still ; 
While  weary  men  now  sleep, 
Their  watch  the  shepherd's  keep 

O'er  many  a  flock  round  Bethlehem's  honor'd 

hill, 

As  God  with  more  than  shepherd's  care 
Watches  the  starry  flocks  and  hosts  of  earth  and  air. 


86  VALE   OF   HOOSATUNNUK. 

When  lo,  an  unknown  star 
Its  radiance  pours  afar, 

And  in  the  east  attracts  their  gazing  eye  ; 
And  then  a  flood  of  light 
O'erwhelms  their  giddy  sight, 

And  heav'nly  seraph  stands  resplendent  nigh ; 
He  comes  the  messenger  of  love 
To  speak  to  man   of  wonders   ne'er  announc'd 
above. 

As  fear  the  shepherds  strook, 
He  cheer'd  them  with  his  look, 

And  mildly  thus  he  did  their  ears  accost ; — ' 
'  Behold,  glad  news  I  bring 
Of  Israel's  Shepherd-King, — 

Tidings  of  joy  to  you  and  all  the  lost. 
The  world's  great  Light  beams  forth  this  morn, 
For   Christ,  the  virgin's  Son,  in  Bethlehem  is 
born. 

'  The  babe  a  manger  holds, 
And  swaddling  band  infolds  ; 


CANTO    II.  87 

Yet   comes    that   child   the    ruin'd  world   to 

save ; — 

His  voice  the  storm  shall  quell, 
And  chase  the  pow'rs  of  hell, 

And  wake  the  sleeping  tenants  of  the  grave  ; — 
His  voice,  when  earth  has  run  his  race, 
Shall  bid  earth's  millions  to  their  final  dwelling- 
place.' — 

Thus  spake  the  angel  fair, 
When  straight  through  all  the  air 

Were    seen  the   countless   hosts   of   seraphs 

bright ; — 

Each  golden  harp  rings  clear, 
Sweet  notes  entrance  the  ear, — 

The  notes  of  joy  and  melody  of  light : 
Such  strains  ne'er  fill'd  the  heav'nly  arch, 
Not  e'en    when  all  yon  flaming  worlds   began 
their  march. 

'Tis  heaven's  new  Song  of  Love, 
That  wakes  those  strains  above, 


88  VALE   OP   HOOSATTJNNUK. 

And  from  the  angel-lips  now  bursts  again ; 
It  sounds  through  all  the  sky, — 
'  Glory  to  God  on  high, 

Peace  on  the  warring  earth,  good-will  to  men  ! 
For  God  now  dwells  with  man  below 
To  cause  the  guilty  soul  with  seraph's  love  to 
glow.' 

My  Saviour  and  my  God, 
Who  on  this  globe  hast  trod, 

Though  million  orbs  of  day  for  thee  are  gleam 
ing! 

My  fetter'd  soul  set  free, 
And  teach  the  minstrelsy, 

The  rescued  sinner's  burning  heart  beseeming ; 
Then  will  I  strike  my  harp  of  gold, 
And  sing  thy  grace,  and  love,  and  pow'r  for  years 
untold ! 


jt  Hal?  nf  BSnrantammk* 


CANTO     III. 


WUNNISSOO, 


THE  VALE  OF  HOOSATUNNUK. 


CANTO   III. 
1. 

IN  Hoosatunnuk's  Vale  from  day  to  day 
Was  rudeness  chang'd  to  social  polity : 
Where  late  the  forest's  gloomy  shadows  lay, 
There  busy,  beauteous  village  one  might  see, 
Where  white  and  red  men  liv'd  in  amity. 
By  roving  hunter  arts  of  peace  were  known  ; 
He  till'd  his  fields  ;  he  planted  fruitful  tree  ; 
Unchimney'd,  smoky  wigwam  was  o'erthrown, 
And  comfortable  house  he  proudly  call'd  his  own. 


92  VALE    OF   HOOSATUNNUK. 

2. 

Such  dwelling  young  Mohekun  had  upreared 
In  little  garden  by  green  hillock's  side, 
To  which,  what  time  the  flow'rs  of  spring  appeared, 
He  led  Wunnissoo  as  his  chosen  bride, 
When  long  delay  his  loyal  heart  had  tried. 
It  was  a  gladsome  hour  to  all  the  vale 
To  see  the  youth  and  maid  in  bonds  allied, 
So  strong,  that  nought  their  strength  could  counter 
vail, 

Save  death,  before  whose  pow'r  all  mortal  things 
must  quail. 

3. 

Here  liv'd  the  virtuous  pair  in  humble  guise, 
But  with  the  light  of  truth  and  calm  of  love, 
With  peace  and  purest  bliss  below  the  skies, 
And  hope  of  endless  bliss  the  skies  above. 
All  savage  traits  of  soul  effac'd,  they  strove 
Each  holy,  Christian  duty  to  fulfil, 
With  purpose  firm,  which  nothing  should  remove. 
Both  toil'd  in  proper  sphere  with  ready  will, 

As  constant  flows  the  stream,  unruffled,  clear,  and 
still. 


CANTO   III.  93 

4. 
Her  hands  would  pluck  of  maize  the  soft,  young 

ear, 

And  strip  its  folded  drapery  away, 
Till  white,  like  disrob'd  babe,  the  corn  appear ; 
Then  from  the  climbing  vine,  with  blossoms  gay, — 
The  fruit  and  blossoms  mix'd  in  glad  array, — 
"Would  pick  the  tender  bean-pods  long  and  green, 
In  shape  like  scimitar,  which  Turks  display. 
Swelling  with  rip'ning  lobe  most  gladly  seen 
By  ev'ry  Indian  forest-dweller,  as  I  ween. 

5. 

The  corn  and  beans  combin'd  she  knew  to  boil, 
And  thus  delicious  nutriment  prepare, — 
The  Suckatash, — the  growth  of  Indian  soil, 
Hunger's  revelry,  solacer  of  care. 
For  this  an  Indian  relish  I  do  bear, 
And  deem  it  unsurpass'd  by  foreign  cook, 
Working  on  aliments  most  dear  and  rare. 
With  this  and  crimson-spotted  trout  from  brook, 
On  kingly  table  none  need  cast  an  envious  look. 


94  VALE   OF  HOOSATUNNUK. 

6. 

But  ne'er  was  table  spread  with  earthly  fruit, 
Deriv'd  from  field  or  garden,  or  with  game, 
Procur'd  in  vacant  hour,  of  fish  or  brute, 
Without  the  praise  of  God,  from  whom  they  came. 
Then  let  th'  insensate  man  be  cloth'd  with  shame, 
Who  sits  down  to  luxurious,  costly  feast 
In  princely  hall,  and  yet  no  grateful  flame 
Ascends;  who  like  the  head-declined  beast 
Partakes  the  food,  all  sense  of  gratitude  surceased. 

7. 

Each  night  and  morn  was  read  the  holy  Book, 
And  cheerful  hymn  was  sung  with  melody, 
And  humble  pray'r  address'd,  with  rev'rent  look, 
To  God,  whose  throne  is  in  the  lofty  sky, 
Yet  who  to  household  worshipper  is  nigh. — 
How  welcome  always  was  the  day  of  rest, 
When,  earthly  cares  and  earthly  thoughts  laid  by, 
They  walk'd  up  to  God's  house,  with  awe  imprest, 
To  join  the  common  praise,  and  hear  the  doctrine 
blest  ? 


CANTO  m.  95 

8. 

Thus  now  in  those  far  islands  of  the  west, 
Where  late  the  homage  was  to  idols  paid 
With  cruel  rites  and  sorceries  unblest, 
Pure  ofPrings  to  the  living  God  are  made 
In  thronged  temple  and  domestic  shade, — 
Shaming  the  proud  and  polish'd  infidel, 
Within  whose  mansion,  sumptuously  arrayed, 
No  notes  of  pray'r  and  praise  do  ever  swell, 
And  nought  of  Christian  peace  and  hope  delights  to 

dwell. 

9. 

But  chiefly  did  their  hearts  with  joy  o'erflow, 
When,  at  the  table  of  their  Lord,  they  ate 
The  bread  and  wine,  memorials  of  His  woe, 
Who  died  God's  broken  law  to  vindicate, 
And  bear  up  justice  in  unsullied  state  ; 
And  emblems  too  of  that  celestial  food, 
By  faith  receiv'd,  which  mind  and   heart  can 

sate. 

What  peace,  and  hope,  and  love,  and  gratitude 
They   felt  is   all   unknown  by  strangers  to  their 

mood. 


96  VALE   OP  HOOSATUNNUK. 

10. 

They  envied  not  the  monarch's  costly  feast, 
His  table  cover'd  o'er  with  plate  of  gold, 
Loaded  with  viands  from  the  west  and  east, 
And  deck'd  with  splendor  dazzling  to  behold. 
How  oft  at  such  a  feast,  as  once  of  old, 
The  doomful  writing  glares  upon  the  eye, — 
When  down  the  pageant  sinks  ?    But  joys  untold 
Cheer  ev'ry  humble  heart,  when  Christ  is  nigh, — 
Master  of  feast  below,  sure  guide  to  heav'n  on  high. 

11. 

Moons  roll'd  away  mid  household  cares  and  joy  ; 
And  when  at  last,  as  high  and  priceless  dower, 
Mohekun  heard  the  voice  of  infant  boy, 
His  heart  was  thrill'd  with  bliss  unfelt  before, 
And  tide  of  praise  to  God  he  did  outpour. 
I  may  not  speak  the  parents'  hope  and  fear, 
When  gazing  on  that  infant  of  an  hour, 
Yet  destin'd  to  outrun  the  sun's  career, 
And  live,  when  worlds  shall  be  in  yellow  leaf  and 
sere. 


CANTO   III.  97 

12. 

That  helpless  frame  is  tenanted  by  soul 
Immortal  in  its  nature.     That  soft  eye, 
That  seems,  unkindled  by  a  thought,  to  roll, 
Will  soon  be  lighted  with  reflection  high 
And  all  the  strongest  passions'  radiancy : 
That  tongue  will  speak  th'  emotions  of  the  breast . 
But  more  than  all,  that  mind, — dread  destiny  ! — 
Deprav'd,  will  sink  where  wrathful  waves  ne'er 

rest, 
Or,  stamp'd  with  good,  ascend  and  be  forever  blest. 

13. 

'Tis  parents'  work  to  train  in  heav'nly  path, 
From  which  th'  accustom'd  feet  shall  never  stray : 
The  faithful  discipline  is  blest ;  but  wrath 
Shall  strike  the  slothful  in  the  final  day. 
Oh,  parents  !  who  can  paint  your  grim  dismay, 
If  then  your  child  through  your  neglect  be  lost, 
And  you,  unsav'd,  to  agony  a  prey, 
On  the  same  fiery  billows  should  be  tost, 
Finding,  alas,  how  much  your  slothfulness  has  cost  ? 
7 


98  VALE  OF  HOOSATUNNUK. 

14. 

Yet  stubborn  will  with  resolute  arm  to  quell 
And  make  obedience  sure ;  to  check  the  tide 
Of  early  passion,  break  delusion's  spell, 
Self-love  to  curb,  and  humble  budding  pride, 
And  teach  the  gospel  truth,  which  men  deride ; 
With  mingled  awe  and  love  to  rule,  deny, 
Restrain,  and  in  each  pious  path  to  guide, 
With   constant  pray'r  to    Him,   who  reigns  on 

high,— 
Is  arduous  work,  but  work  rear'd  for  eternity ! 

15. 

The  proudest  piles  on  this  poor,  earthly  ball 
Shall  crumble  into  dust,  by  time  o'erthrown  : 
St.  Peter's  glorious  church  at  Rome  shall  fall, 
As  other  idol  temples  have  sunk  down ; 
The  mighty  monuments  of  Nile  shall  own 
Decay's  sure  law ;  but  mind,  when  built  aright, 
Ne'er  sinks ;  and  he,  who  builds,  and  he  alone 
Has  rear'd  a  holy  temple,  fair  and  bright, 
Destin'd  to  stand  fore'er  in  heav'n's  eternal  light ! 


CANTO   III.  99 

16. 

These  Indian  parents  train'd  their  lovely  boy 
For  God  and  heav'n,  and  with  unchanging  aim 
A  character  to  form  without  alloy, 
Of  motive  right  and  action  without  blame. 
A  higher  principle,  than  dread  of  shame, 
Or  hope  of  man's  applause,  it  was  their  care 
1"  infuse  into  his  heart  •; — a  holy  flame 
Of  love  to  God  and  man,  devotion  rare, 
And  aspiration  after  bliss,  which  angels  share. 

17. 

On  passion's  first  outbreakings  they  impose 
A  wise  and  strong  restraint  with  utmost  care ; 
As  he,  who  dwells,  where  Mississippi  flows, 
Watches  the  slightest  current,  which  may  dare 
To  cross  the  safeguard  mount  upheaved  there, 
And  instant  checks  th'  encroachment,  when  de 
scried, 

For  by  delay  the  streamlet  soon  doth  wear 
A  broad,  deep  channel,  growing  still  more  wide, 
Till  all  his  fields  are  whelm'd  beneath  the  boundless 
tide. 


100  VALE   OF  HOOSATUNNUK. 

18. 

Tis  wise  to  crush  the  shell  of  cockatrice, 
Ere  it  is  hatch'd  by  heat  of  summer's  sun. 
Then  why  should  infant  anger,  avarice, 
And  pride  be  foster'd  ?    Is  it  wisely  done 
To  spare  the  serpent,  till  his  strength  is  won  ? 
The  petty  rage  may  please  thy  sporting  mood, 
But  rage  indulg'd  is  murder  just  begun ; 
The  arm  uncheck'd  may  strike  at  last  for  blood, 
All  blessed  promise  wither'd  and  extinct  all  good. 

19. 

Honor  was  not  an  idol  to  be  adored 
With  loss  of  peace  and  sacrifice  of  blood  ; 
But  Waunseet  knew,  taught  by  the  sacred  word, 
That  law  divine  was  measure  of  all  good, 
And  therefore  that,  with  courage  unsubdued, 
He  should  pursue  the  straight  and  narrow  way, 
And  bear  each  transient  ill  with  fortitude. 
It  was  glad  sight  to  see  the  youth  obey 
With  cheerful  heart  the  rules,  which  guide  to  heav'n's 
bright  day. 


CANTO   HI.  101 

20. 

O,  happy  child,  in  rural  village  born, 
Nurtur'd  in  truth,  where  nature  gives  delight ! 
O'er  eastern  hills  he  sees  the  streaks  of  morn 
In  splendor  grow,  till  highest  heav'n  is. bright;— 
On  stream,  mead,  grove,  and  lake,  with  raptured 

sight, 

He  gazes,  taught  in  all  things  to  behold 
The  pow'r  and  love  of  Him,  who  dwells  in  light ; 
And  train'd,  with  ready  feet  and  courage  bold, 
To  walk  in  virtue's  path  and  gain  her  joys  untold. 

* 

21. 

To  man,  who,  like  Prometheus,  is  fast  bound, 
At  least  in  heart  and  soul,  to  flinty  rock, 
'Tis  joyful,  when  the  gem-fraught  stone  is  found, 
To  give  the  milk-white  quartz  the  hammer's  shock, 
As,  Vulcan-like,  I've  hammer'd  on  the  block, 
And  see  the  beryl  pour  its  hues  of  green, — 
Emblem  of  hope,  which  failures  oft  bemock, — 
Or  dyes  both  green  and  red  of  tourmaline, 
With  Cleavelandite  allied,  though  brittle,  pure  and 
sheen. 


102  VALE   OF  HOOSATUNNUK. 

22. 

So  once  I  gather'd  Amethystine  forms 

On  White  Hills'  side,  which  rear  aloft  sublime 

Their  snow-crown'd  heads,  the  chosen  home  of 

storms. 

<f 

O'ertopping  all  the  mounts  of  country's  clime  : 
'Twas  near  the  dwelling,  which,  in  recent  time, 
By  thund'ring  masses  from  the  mountain's  side 
Was  overwhelm'd,  whose  inmates,  in  the  prime 
Of  manhood,  and  their  children  dear  all  died, 

Swept,  as  they  fled,  and  crush'd  by  rocky  torrent's 
tide. 

23. 

Tis  joyful  to  the  man,  who  fragrance  breathes, 
And  bears  a  roseate  garland  on  his  brow, 
And  wild-flow'r  for  his  cabinet  inwreathes, — 
To  him  the  fairest  maiden  here  below, — 
To  creep  in  bushy  vale,  where  brooklets  flow, 
Or  climb  the  mountain's  per'lous,  giddy  height, 
E'en  to  the  borders  of  eternal  snow  ; 
If  there  a  new  flow'r  meet  his  eager  sight, 

He  seizes  quick  the  spoil,  he  feels  unknown  delight. 


CANTO  m.  103 

24 

Within  my  mind  is  deeply  registered 
The  place,  where  num'rous  plants  first  gave  me 

cheer ; 

Where  silken  leaves  of  Panax  were  outspread, 
Whose  root  to  Chinese  appetite  is  dear, 
And  where,  in  deep  Canadian  forest  drear, 
The  Sarracenia  glow'd  in  purple  pride, 
Nodding  in  little  swamp,  of  wood-growth  clear, 
Whose  cup-like  leaves,  to  eastern  plant  allied, 
May  warn  each  toper, — fill'd  with  sipping  flies,  who 
died. 

25. 

To  men,  like  Kirby,  with  true  zeal  indeed, 
Whom  insect  forms  inspire  with  keen  delight, 
Whom  wand'ring  butterflies  by  day  mislead, 
And  draw  through  many  a  bog,  as  wizard  light 
Misguides  the  tempted  trav'ller  in  the  night, 
'Tis  gladsome  to  entangle  in  small  net 
Some  heedless  moth,  with  spangled  wings  and 

bright, 

Or  from  decaying  log  or  stump  o'erset 
To  catch  the  tribes,  that  rush,  in  their  retreat  beset. 


104  VALE    OF   HOOSATUNNUK. 

26. 

"Tis  joyful  to  the  man,  who  converse  holds 
With  wand'ring  planets  in  the  sky  serene, 
Or  fixed  stars,  which  tube  uprear'd  unfolds, 
To  catch  a  ray  from  orb  before  unseen, 
To  bear  thenceforth  his  honor'd  name,  I  ween, 
As  fitlier  meed  for  him,  than  for  his  king ; 
Or  peep  into  th'  immense,  far  worlds  between, 
And  there  discern  new  systems  on  the  wing, 
And  thence  in  depths  of  space  new  worlds  imagining. 

27. 

But  sweeter,  purer,  higher  is  the  joy, 
From  deep  inquiry  in  the  book  divine 
To  gain  the  gem,  which  beams  without  alloy, — 
The  gem  of  truth ;  or  round  the  brow  to  twine 
Blossoms  of  virtue,  which  unwith'ring  shine  ; 
Or  in  the  cab'net  of  the  heart  to  place 
The  forms  of  goodness  in  their  proper  shrine  ; 
Or  with  heav'n-piercing  vision  well  to  trace 
The  throne  of  Him,  who  reigns  o'er  worlds  in  bound 
less  space. 


CANTO  III.  105 

28. 

Science  is  dwindling  down  into  the  art 
Of  marshalling  whate'er  the  eye  beholds, 
Arranging  in  due  place  each  whole  and  part, 
The  moral  aim  unseen,  which  all  infolds  ; — 
Like  soldiers,  whom  our  green  parade  now  holds, 
The  doughty  heroes,  spread  upon  the  plain, 
Arrang'd  in  line,  but  whom  no  skill  imbolds, 
Untaught  the  use  of  arms,  which  vict'ry  gain, 
The  idle  boast  of  him,  who  rules  th'  accoutred  train. 

29. 

Yet  let  the  hewera  of  rough  stones  pursue 
Their  humble  task ;  a  builder  shall  arise 
To  rear  the  temple  to  God's  glory  due. 
So  in  the  cone-born  curve,  by  Grecian  eyes 
Idly  discern'd,  the  modern  sage  descries 
The  path,  in  which  all  wand'ring  planets  roll 
In  their  vast  courses  through  the  azure  skies, 
Tracing  that  form,  howe'er  they  seem  to  stroll, 
Bound   to   the   wondrous  curve  by  strong,  divine 
control. 


106  VALE   OP  HOOSATUNNUK. 

30. 

So  the  smutch'd  chemist,  erst  in  search  of  gold, 
Each  substance  would  transmute  by  tort'ring  brand ; 
But  vainly  toil'd  the  myst'ry  to  unfold. 
Yet  by  his  toils  is  blaze  of  science  fanned, 
And  later  sage  extracts  discov'ry  grand. 
As  at  Aladdin's  touch  the  Genius  came, 
Slave  of  the  lamp  ;  so  now,  in  Davy's  hand, 
Round  lamp  more  wondrous  flickers  a  blue  flame; 
'Tis  fire-blast, — cavern  spirit,  slave  subdued  and 

tame. 

31. 

For  ages  worshipp'd  by  the  minstrel  throng, 
On  mountain  top,  by  brook,  in  field,  and  wood, 
Nature  !    thou  dost  thy  maker  mighty  wrong. 
Glows  not  thy  beauteous  cheek  with  mantling  blood, 
Thyself  to  take  His  praise,   *  First  Fair,  First 

Good?' 

Vain  Idol !  this  thy  folly  thou  shalt  rue  ! 
A  tempest-voice  swells  o'er  the  billowy  flood, — 
'The  flames  shall  scorch  whate'er  false  homage 

drew, 
And  all  thy  beauty's  light  shall  turn  to  deadly  hup  ! ' 


CANTO   III.  107 

32. 

I  do  not  love  the  city's  prison  walls, 
The  narrow  space  begirt  with  brick  and  stone, 
The  selfish  crowd,  which  timid  heart  appals ; 
But  I  would  walk  in  field  and  grove  alone ; 
Or  lay  me  down  where  crystal  waters  moan, 
As  gently  o'er  their  pebbly  bed  they  flow ; 
Or  stand  upon  the  mountain's  rock-built  throne, 
Gazing  on  all  the  outspread  scene  below, 

While  glorious,  kindling  thoughts  within  my  bosom 
glow. 

33. 

But  who  shall  paint  the  pleasures  ever  new, 
With  which  our  changing  seasons  e'er  abound  ? 
The  flakes  of  wintry  snow  fall  soft,  like  dew ; 
Or,  when  the  sleety  tempest  raves  around, 
Both  peace  and  joy  by  cheerful  fire  are  found. — 
And  then  the  light  of  full-orb'd  moon,  like  day, 
Gleams  on  the  silver  vestment  of  the  ground 
In  calmest  eve  ;  or  northern  streamers  play 

Their  wondrous  frolics  in   their  pure   and  bright 
array. 


108  VALE    OP  HOOSATUNNTJK. 

34. 

When  spring  returns,  and  southern  breezes  blow ; 
When  warmer  suns  arise  and  rains  descend, 
And  melt  away  at  once  th'  incumbent  snow ; 
Then  from  the  mountain's  side,  where  forests 

bend, 

The  torrent  comes  with  thund'ring  sound  to  wend 
Its  foaming,  furious  way  through  valley  wide, 
With  giant  force,  no  obstacle  can  fend, 
Bearing  along,  with  mighty  victor's  pride, 
Uprooted  trees  and  icy  masses  in  its  tide. 

35. 

So,  Niagara !  down  the  depth  profound 
Plunges  thy  broad  and  brightly-gleaming  flood, 
Fed  by  vast  lakes,  in  symbol-union  bound. 
On  Table  Rock,  now  fall'n,  in  youth  I  stood, 
Gazing  on  all  the  scene  in  rapt'rous  mood. 
There,  at  my  level,  the  majestic  stream 
O'er  long-curv'd  cliff,  with  ample  plenitude, 
Begins  its  stoop  in  reg'lar,  bending  gleam  ; 
Then  falls,  till  shape  is  lost  in  foam  and  misty 
steam. 


CANTO  in.  109 

36. 

Perch'd  on  thin  leaf  of  overhanging  rock, 
I  venture  to  the  edge  and  look  below : 
I  see  the  eddying  depth ;  and  feel  the  shock, 
The  shore  all  trembling  at  the  earthquake-blow. 
Ah,  what  if  sudden  dizziness  should  grow, 
As,  at  Passaic  cliff,  in  her,  who  fell  ? 
Or  what  if  shock  my  foothold-ledge  o'erthrow, 
And  to  abyss  I  sink  with  loosen'd  shell  ? — 
The  solitary's  fate  no  living  one  could  tell. 

37. 

But,  though  no  brother  man  with  me  did  stand, 
Yet  God  was  there,  who  scoop'd  the  basin  wide, 
And  pour'd  the  flood  out  from  his  hollow  hand. 
Yet  God  was  there,  whose  voice  on  ev'ry  side 
Issued  in  thunders  from  the  angry  tide. 
Yet  God  was  there,  the  cloud-built  arch  to  rear, 
With    mingled    hues    of   beauteous    brightness 

dyed, — 

Symbol,  once  caus'd  o'er  wider  flood  t'  appear, 
Blest  pledge  of  earth's  escape  from  destiny  severe. 


110  VALE   OF  HOOSATUNNUK. 

38. 

Stand  here,  mortal  presumptuous !  and  say, — 
While  ear  is  stunn'd  with  torrent's  ceaseless  roar, 
And  solid  rocks  do  tremble  with  dismay, — 
Cannot  God's  hand  the  flood  of  vengeance  pour, 
To  sweep  the  proud,  where  they  will  boast  no 

more? 

Let  warring  tribes  this  voice  of  thunder  hear, 
And  hush  their  rage,  lest  whirlpool  wrath  devour ! 
Christian !  the  bow  of  promise  shines  forth  clear, 
And  thou  mayst  smile  secure,  when  earth  shall 
quake  with  fear. 

39. 
When  quiet  flood  or  lake  outspread  and  wide 

Is  cloth'd  with  crystal  in  the  clear,  cold  night, 
How  joyous  o'er  the  glassy  deep  to  glide 
As  with  the  wings  and  speed  of  angels  bright  ? 
But,  youngster,  then  beware,  lest  rapid  flight 
Bear  thee  incautious  to  th'  unfrozen  wave, 
And  thou,  evanish'd  quick  from  human  sight, 
Descendest  where  no  friendly  hand  can  save, 
Finding  amidst  thy  joy  a  sudden,  wat'ry  grave. 


CANTO   III.  Ill 

40. 

Ah  then  what  grief  is  felt,  what  tears  are  shed 
By  doating  parents  in  their  failing  day, 
With  snows  of  winter  on  their  weary  head  ? 
And  what  can  sister's  anguish  now  allay, 
Companion  of  her  childhood  torn  away, 
With  sudden  wrench,  from  all  in  life  most  dear  ? 
Then  to  thy  path  let  prudence  lend  its  ray ; 
Yet  still  this  true  and  needful  lesson  hear, — 

'Tis  God  thy  bounds  has  fix'd,  and  aims  death's 
fatal  spear. 

41. 

The  ling'ring  breath  of  winter  wholly  fled, 
The  earth  is  cloth'd  with  flow'rs  and  living  green, 
And  song  of  birds  from  tree  is  carolled, 
While  frisking  lambs  in  sunny  fields  are  seen, 
And  all  the  air  is  soft,  and  sky  serene. 
Then  let  the  heart  o'erflow  with  gratitude 
To  Him,  who  spreads  out  all  this  lovely  scene ; 
And  let  the  soul  ascend  in  pious  mood 

To  God,  the  full  spring-head  of  all,  that's  fair  and 
good. 


112  VALE    OF   HOOSATUNNUK. 

42. 

Summer  succeeds,  when  yellow  harvests  wave, 
And  various  fruits  hang  tempting  from  the  tree. 
God  gives  to  all  what  appetite  may  crave ; — 
Berries  to  birds,  who  sing  so  merrily, 
Of  nuts  a  store  to  squirrel  brisk  and  free, 
To  fish  the  insect  dancing  on  the  stream, 
And  flow'r-bred  honey  to  the  toiling  bee. 
Then  shine,  ye  rich,  with  charitable  gleam, 
And  cause  in  widow's  eye  the  priceless  tear  to  beam. 

43. 

The  autumn  forest  glows  upon  the  eye 
In  tints,  which  shame  the  summer's  sober  green  ; 
The  oak  in  russet,  beech  in  yellow  dye, 
And  maple's  crimson  glory  deck  the  scene, 
With  all  the  intermingled  shades  between. 
Thus  gleams  the  year,  ere  garb  of  white  is  spread, 
As  in  the  face  of  dying  man  are  seen 
His  last,  strong  feelings,  ere  he  lays  his  head, 
Where  all  earth's  bright  and  glorious  images  are 
fled. 


CANTO  III.  113 

44. 

Waunseet  grew  up  in  nature's  loveliest  vale, 
And  all  was  gladd'ning  to  his  eye  and  ear. 
But,  as  sweet  earthly  pleasures  soon  must  fail, 
And  darkness  will  o'erspread  all  brightness  here, 
He  oft  was  urg'd  to  look  beyond  earth's  sphere 
And  seek  the  glories  of  eternity 
By  all,  that  answers  hope,  or  wakens  fear, — 
By  dread  of  God's  just  indignation  high, 
And  hope  of  joys  ineffable  in  yonder  sky. 

45. 

Much  have  I  seen  of  what  the  world  may  show 
To  cheat  the  vision  of  the  human  child : — 
Gay,  youthful  hopes,  which  in  the  spring  do  blow, 
But  wither'd  soon,  like  flow'r  on  eastern  wild ; — 
Sweet,  earthly  joys,  which  for  a  moment  smiled, 
Then  fled,  like  meteor  darting  through  the  sky  ; — 
Ambitious  honors,  soon  by  envy  soiled ; 
The  monarch's  sceptre  yielded  with  a  sigh, 
And  all  the  bliss  of  earth  quick  fading  from  the 
eye. 
8 


114  VALE   OF  HOOSATUNNUK. 

46. 

In  vain  the  wretch  shall  say,  o'erwhelm'd  with 

woe, — 

'  I  have  been  blest  beyond  the  common  joy, 
And  nought  of  change  this  boast  can  overthrow ! ' 
How  bootless  is  the  boast,  when  cares  annoy, 
And  present  pains  remember'd  bliss  destroy  ? 
Does  heaven's  great  outcast,  in  the  fiery  deep, 
By  thought  of  bliss,  which  once  he  did  enjoy, 
Allay  the  waves,  which  vengeful  tempests  sweep, 

Or  quell  th'  undying  worms,  which  in  his  breast  do 
creep  ? 

47. 

We  can  endure,  when  hope  upstays  the  mind, 
And  pain  has  some  proportion  to  our  frame : 
But,  hope  all  gone,  as  light  from  eyeball  blind, 
And  agony  commix'd  with  lowest  shame, 
And  wrath  almighty  felt,  like  furnace-flame, — 
Will  proud-tongued  mortals  bear  a  resolute  front, 
As  they  pretend,  and  dread  of  God  disclaim  ? 
Will  infidels  then  boast,  as  now  they  're  wont, 

And  dare  the  flaming  indignation  to  confront  ? 


CANTO  in.  115 

48. 

As  well  might  seaman,  when  the  tempest  raves, 
And  tosses  ship  aloft,  as  football  thrown, 
Bid  proud  defiance  to  the  winds  and  waves : 
As  well  might  dweller  in  a  tropic  town, 
When  earthquake  shakes  its  walled  ramparts  down, 
Contemn  the  perilous  rocking  of  the  ground : 
As  well,  when  mountain  torrent  has  o'erflown 
Its  banks,  and  rushes  on  with  furious  sound, 

May  wretch  afloat  then  shut  his  eyes  for  sleep  pro 
found. 

49. 

Then,  while  our  present,  fleeting  joys  we  taste, 
Scatter'd  profuse  amidst  our  cares  and  woes, 
Like  diamonds  in  the  sterile  soil  and  waste, 
Still  let  us  seek  the  bliss,  which  ever  flows 
Before  God's  throne  and  no  defilement  knows. 
'Tis  truth  and  holiness  must  guide  our  feet, 
That  gaining  good,  which  no  decay  o'erthrows, 
Transferr'd  from  earth  to  heav'n  with  joy  com 
plete, 

Our  diadem  may  gleam  with  glories  infinite. 


116  VALE   OF  HOOSATUNNUK. 

50. 

Some  years  had  pass'd  in  quietness  away, 
When  war's  alarms  came  o'er  the  ocean    wide, 
And  fill'd  this  distant  vale  with  wild  dismay. 
England  and  France,  though  living  side  by  side, 
And  boasting  name  of  Christ,  the  crucified, 
Yet  deem  each  other  nat'ral  foes,  as  though 
To  hate  was  Christian  precept  undenied : 
And  when  they  madly  deal  the  frequent  blow, 
Their  furthest  colonies  must  share  the  guilt  and  woe. 

51. 

The  laurels  of  triumphant  war  shall  fade, 
And  might  compar'd  with  goodness  be  disgrace  ; 
But  ne'er  shall  ignominy  dare  invade 
The  names  of  benefactors  of  our  race, 
But  they  shall  ever  shine  in  sweetest  grace. 
In  vain  shall  warrior  show  his  perilous  scar ; — 
Let  him  to  men  of  charity  give  place : 
Preacher  of  peace  is  title  higher  far, 
Than  ruler  of  the  storm  of  desolating  war. 


CANTO  in.  117 

52. 

On  warrior's  crest  let  ignominy  light ! 
Among  the  far-fam'd  heroes  where  is  one, 
Whose  character  with  virtue's  beams  is  bright? 
Give  me.  the  fame  of  our  own  Washington, 
Who,  when  invaded  liberty  was  won, 
Ketir'd  a  virtuous  man  to  his  own  home, — 
Shaming  the  blot  of  Philip's  mighty  son, 
Shaming  great  Caesar's  mastery  of  Rome, 
And  modern  Caesar's  grief,  unthron'd  to  find  a  tomb ! 

53. 

If  murder  rear  a  monument  to  fame, 
And  pow'r  to  kill  be  worthy  of  applause ; 
Why  hail  not  then  with  song  and  loud  acclaim 
The  horns  of  bull,  or  kingly  lion's  jaws, 
Or  serpent's  fang,  or  pouncing  eagle's  claws  ? 
Why  praise  not  then  the  dark  assassin's  knife, 
Demon-contemner  of  all  holy  laws  ? 
Is  it  because  he  takes  a  single  life, 
He  merits  less,  than  kindler  of  a  nation's  strife  ? 


118  VALE   OF   HOOSATUNNUK. 

54. 

In  Hoosatunnuk's  vale,  where  blessed  truth 
Of  heav'n  dispens'd  its  calm  and  holy  light, 
The  crimson  stain  of  war  was  mourn'd  with  ruth. 
*  Whither  has  charity  now  sped  her  flight,' — 
Wunnissoo  said, — '  and  why  will  Christians  fight  ? 
Were  I  a  bard  in  palace  of  a  king, 
Methinks  the  praise  of  war  I  could  recite 
In  notes  more  apt,  than  courtly  bards  do  sing ; 
For  thus  should  rise  my  song,  war's  glories  carol- 
ling:'- 

THE  RAVENS'  WAR-HYMN. 

Ye  Ravens,  whence  come  ye,  that  darken  the  air, 
With  croakings,  that  rouse  the  wolf  in  his  lair  ? — 
1 0,  from  the  red  fields  of  glory  we've  come, 
Where  soldiers  have  fallen  far  from  their  home, 
Where  carrion  corpses  lie  on  the  ground, 
And  delicious  repast  for  ravens  is  found ! ' 

/ 

In  the  red  fields  of  slaughter  who  glory  can  gain  ? 
Does    honor  spring    up   from  the  blood    of  the 
slain  ? — 


CANTO  III.  119 


*  Ye  know  not  the  ways  of  men  of  your  kind, 
For  glory  is  nurtur'd  by  blood,  ye  will  find : 
How  little  the  hero's  fame  would  spread, 
Unless  he  did  strow  the  earth  with  the  dead  ? 

'  "Where  would  be  the  great  Alexander's  name, 
Where  would  be  the  Koman  Caesar's  fame, 
Or  where  any  victor-warrior's  praise, 
Unless  of  raven-pick'd  bones  they  could  raise 
A  monument  of  towering  height, 
Admir'd  by  all,  who  gaze  at  the  sight  ? ' 

And  what  have  ye  seen  in  the  fields  of  slaughter, 
Where    blood    has    been    pour'd    abundant    like 

water  ?  — 

'  We've  seen  the  fair  youth,  an  only  son, 
With  shatter'd  limbs,  as  his  life-blood  run, 
Speaking  of  his  mother  he  left  but  late — 
Then  cursing  th'  enticement  to  his  fate ! 

'  We've  seen  the  gay  lover,  who  had  pledg'd  his 

vow, 
And  hop'd  to  return  with  laurel-crown'd  brow 


120  VALE   OP  HOOSATUNNUK 

To  marry  the  angel,  whose  heart  he  had  won, 
In  agony  stretch'd  on  the  field  all  alone : 
Through  his  heart  what  a  tide  of  affections  rushed  ? 
But,  cursing  his  end — by  a  wheel  was  he  crushed ! 

'  We've  seen  the  husband  of  beauteous  wife 
With  face  all  mangled  by  the  foeman's  knife  ; 
As  he  lay  dying  and  weltering  in  blood, 
He  thought  of  her,  O,  how  fair  and  how  good ! 
He  feebly  just  utter'd  the  lov'd  one's  name, 
Then  loud  curs'd  his  chieftain  of  warrior's  proud 
fame! 

'  We've  seen  the  father  of  a  glorious  boy 
In  his  childhood's  bloom,  of  his  heart  all  the  joy ; 
He  had  left  him  for  honor ;  and  now  on  the  ground, 
As  he  struggled  with  death  in  grimness  of  wound, 
How  he  rav'd,  that  his  son  he  should  see  no  more  ? 
He  curs'd  the  ambition — but  life  was  o'er ! 

1  We've  seen  many  millions  writhing  in  woer 
Cursing  their  prince,  as  their  souls  went  below ; 


CANTO  III.  121 

But  their  curses  are  vain,  for  new  heroes  shall  rise, 
And  blood  shall  yet  moisten  all  lands  'neath  the 

skies : — 

Then  we  Ravens  will  still  cry — O  war !  thou  art  good, 
For  our  young  ones  provider  of  carrion  food ! ' 

55. 

Thus  sung  Wunnissoo ;  when  Mohekun  cried, — 
'  Let  Eavens  be  the  laureate-bards  of  war, 
Privileg'd  alone  to  praise  the  hero's  pride, 
And  give  due  meed  to  conqueror's  glorious  scar ! 
Their  plaudit-scream  may  warriors  hear  afar, 
Shriller  than  fife's  or  trumpet's  piercing  sound, 
Louder  than  battle's  fierce,  discordant  jar ; — 
Fit  praise  of  those,  who  steep   with  blood  the 

ground, 
And  spread  the  desolating  stour  full  wide  around ! ' 


aie  of 


CANTO  IV. 


WUNNISSOO, 


THE  VALE  OF  HOOSATUNNUK. 


CANTO  IV. 
1. 

AT  length  the  storm  came  rushing  from  the  north, 
And  burst,  where  at  the  lofty  mountain's  feet 
Thy  stream,  O  Hoosuck,  flows,  and  issues  forth 
The  broad  and  noble  Hudson's  waves  to  greet. 
A  feeble  garrison,  unfit  to  meet 
The  num'rous  French  and  savage  bands,  soon  fell, 
And  terror  thence  was  spread  on  pinions  fleet ; 
For  what  can  now  th'  invading  tempest  quell  ? 
And  ev'ry  breeze  may  bring  the  warwhoop  and  the 
yell. 


126  VALE   OF  HOOSATUNNUK. 

2. 

And  hark !  the  clatt'ring  hoofs  of  foaming  horse, 
Bearing  dishevell'd  dame,  wild  tale  to  tell ! 
Where  now  is  he,  who  rode  in  front  ?    A  corse ! 
Shot  from  his  saddle,  down  the  victim  fell, 
When  straight  arose  the  savage  shout  and  yell. 
^She  held  her  seat,  and  seiz'd  the  bridle  now, 
And  urg'd  her  flight  from  wood  and  frowning  dell, 
Where  her  companion  felt  the  sudden  blow ; 

And  won  her  strange  escape  from  dark  and  treach 
erous  foe. 

3. 

Bold  hearts  must  arm  the  inroad  to  withstand: 
Nor  was  Mohekun  backward  at  the  call. 
Though  war  be  guilt  in  those,  who  light  the 

brand, 

And  heavy  woe  shall  on  th'  offenders  fall ; 
Yet  self-defence  he  deem'd  the  right  of  all : 
He  would  not  yield  himself  to  wolf  a  prey, 
Nor  suffer  child  or  wife  to  be  a  thrall. 
He  went  out  on  a  scout ;  but  from  that  day 

His  eyes  ne'er  saw  his  home ;  he's  fallen  far  away  ! 


CANTO   IV.  127 

4. 

To  God  Wunnissoo  look'd  with  strong  desire 
And  firmest  trust.     Passing  through  waters  deep, 
She  was  not  overwhelm'd ;  nor  did  the  fire, 
Through  which  she  walk'd,  along  her   garments 

creep ; 

She  was  secure  on  edge  of  perilous  steep  ; — 
So  mighty  is  God's  promise  to  the  just,     [weep  ? 
Then  wherefore,  mourner,  dost    thou   ceaseless 
Though  keen  the  blow,  in  Him  repose  your  trust, 
And  life  and  joy  shall  spring  up  from  the  mould 
ering  dust. 

5. 

Her  teacher  was  expert  to  soothe  her  woe, 
And  bring  out  from  the  word  consoling  balm. 
O,  blessed  sympathy,  when  keen-felt  blow 
Has  smitten  deep,  and  wrought  the  grievous  harm, 
And  blessed  care  the  tempest's  rage  to  calm, — 
The  dark  despondence  of  the  soul  to  cheer, 
And  unsubmitting  passion  to  disarm ! 
'Tis  thus,  that  healing  comes  to  wound  severe, 
And  calmness  comes,  like  spring-time  after  winter 
drear. 


128  VALE   OF  HOOSATUNNUK. 

6. 

*  'Twas  hour  of  grief,'  he  said, '  when  vengeful  pride 
The  heav'nly  Shepherd  smote  and  laid  him  low. 
How  mourn'd  his  scatter'd  sheep,  that  He  had 

died? 

Yet  soon  their  hearts  with  joy  did  overflow, 
As  He  his  glorious  form  alive  did  show, 
Unscorch'd  by  all  his  fiery  suffering ! 
Then  had  they  bliss,  which  angels  cannot  know, — 
Kecover'd  hope,  a  faith  of  heav'nly  wing, 
And  certain  vict'ry  too  o'er  death's  keen,  piercing 
sting. 

7. 

*  That  bliss  is  ours,  'mid  all  our  pains  and  grief; 
For  Jesus  lives,  his  followers'  glorious  friend, 
And  he  hath  promis'd  peace,  and  sweet  relief, 
And  his  glad  presence  till  the  world  shall  end. 
Then  blow,  ye  storms,  and  in  confusion  blend 
Each  element  of  earthly  good : — I  hear 

A  voice,  which  all  th'  tumultuous  strife  shall  end, 
The  pow'rful  voice — "  'Tis  I,  why  do  ye  fear  ?  " 
When  straight  the  tempest  sinks,  and  sea  and  sky 
are  clear. 


CANTO    IV.  129 

8. 

<  E'en  death  now  hurls  a  feeble,  blunted  lance, 
And  strikes  a  slight  and  ineffectual  blow, 
As  wounded  warrior,— dimm'd  his  eagle  glance,— 
With  failing  arm  resists  a  vig'rous  foe. 
For  surely  death  himself  will  be  brought  low : 
The  Prince  of  Life  his  promise  rich  will  keep, 
And,  speaking  to  the  dead,  will  say,  we  know, 
In  words,  that  reach  death's  caverns  dark  and  deep, 
«  Lo,  tyrant  death  is  dead,  and  sleeps  a  lasting  sleep  I " 

9. 

«  0,  glorious  day,  when  from  the  quick'ning  dust, 
As  shoots  up  from  the  ground  each  vernal  flower, 
Shall  spring  to  life  the  millions  of  the  just, 
To  bloom  untouch'd  by  death's  destroying  power ! 
And  shall  we  see  again  in  that  glad  hour 
The  much-loVd  forms,  now  vanish'd  from  our 

sight? 

O,  for  a  seraph's  tongue  the  praise  to  pour, 
Due  for  such  rapt'rous  joy  and  pure  delight, — 
Forever  to  be  paid  hi  world  of  cloudless  light !' 
9 


130  VALE   OP  HOOSATUNNUK. 

10. 

With  thrilling  hopes  like  these,  ah,  who  can  gaze 
On  monarch's  tott'ring  throne  with  envious  eye  ? 
Or  on  the  crumbling  fame,  which  great  men  raise, 
Like  Babel's  towV,  far  stretching  tow'rd  the  sky  ? 
Or  on  the  tints,  which  cheek  of  beauty  dye, 
As  evanescent  as  the  rainbow's  hues, 
Which  now  adorn  the  mist,  and  quickly  fly  ? 
Ah,  who  the  meteor  good  of  earth  can  choose, 
And  full-orb'd  Sun  of  heav'n,  forever  bright,  refuse  ? 

11. 

The  storm  of  battle  ceas'd :  but  short  repose 

The  wasted  colonies  enjoy'd,  ere  war 

Again  in  all  its  gloomy  terrors  rose, 

The  fertile  fields  of  industry  to  mar, 

And  kindle  flames  in  villages  afar. 

E'en    scalps   were    borne    from   Hoosatunnuk's 

vale 
"  By  Indians  in  the  light  of  morning  star. 

Then  who  shall  not  be  rous'd  the  foe  to  trail, 
And  in  his  dark  retreat  with  vengeance  to  assail  ? 


CANTO   IV.  131 

12. 

Hard-hearted  Frenchman  brib'd  the  savage  foe, 
And  onward  to  their  work  the  "  hell-hounds  "  led, 
"When  tomahawk  quick  laid  the  victims  low, 
And  scalping  knife  was  felt,  e'er  life  was  fled : 
0,  miserable  state  of  those,  who  bled ! 
Nor  Frenchman  bears  alone  th'  enormous  guilt ; 
Man's  heart  the  same,  by  wicked  pride  misled : — 
When  British  pow'r  on  French  o'erthrown  was 

built, 
By  English  gold  procur'd,  thus  oft  was  young  blood 

spilt. 

13. 

The  names  of  ruthless  agents  of  the  crime 
Are  names,  which  bear  vile  infamy's  deep  stain, 
And  will  thus  bear  it  down  to  future  time. 
But  why  should  he  escape,  in  whose  dark  brain 
The  scheme  was  plann'd,  as  miner  lays  his  train  ? 
Sackville !  the  warwhoop  shall  thy  praises  sing ! 
Although  a  peerage  thou  at  last  didst  gain, 
Reward  of  faithful  service  of  thy  king ; 
Yet,  coronet,  mark'd  with  blood,  remorseful  gleam 

must  fling. 


132  VALE   OF  HOOSATUNNUK. 

14. 

Wunnissoo  warn'd  in  vain,  for  youthful  pride 
Her  son  o'erswayM ;  fearless  he  sought  the  foe 
With  band,  that  laugh'd  at  dangers  undescried ; — 
But  soon  the  tidings  came,  that  sudden  blow 
From  ambushment  unfear'd  had  laid  them  low, 
And  all  had  fall'n,  but  messenger  alone. — 
I  may  not  here  describe  a  mother's  woe, 
The  silent  agony  at  first,  and  then  the  tone 
Of  pious  grief,  with  which  she  sought  the  gracious 
throne. 

15. 

She  did  not  sink  beneath  th'  incumbent  weight, 
As  sunk  great  Mornay's  spouse,  when  her  dear  son 
Met  on  the  battle-field  his  sudden  fate, 
Pierc'd  to  the  heart,  as  he  to  vict'ry  run. — 
But  though  she  truly  said, — '  Thy  will  be  done/ — 
Knowing,  amidst  the  storm,  that  all  was  right ; 
Yet  there  were  thoughts,  her  reason  could  not 

shun, 

Of  force  her  peacefulness  of  mind  to  blight, 
If  faith  had  not  supplied  the  feebleness  of  sight. 


CANTO   IV.  133 

16. 

She  was  a  widow ;  he  her  only  child, 
In  her  declining  years  her  hope  and  stay, 
Whose  sweet  companionship  her  cares  beguiledt 
Ah,  who  shall  blame  her  strong  affection's  sway, 
And  tears,  now  lonely  wand'rer  in  the  way  ? 
How  blest  beyond  all  mortals  here  beneath 
Was  she  by  bier,  on  which  her  dead  son  lay, 
When  Christ  with  voice,  that  reach'd  the  ear  of 

death, 
Reviv'd  his  lifeless  frame,  restor'd  his  parted  breath  ? 

17. 

'  O,  could  th'  unutterable  bliss  be  mine ! ' 
She  said, — '  but  surely  God  is  just  and  good, 
And  ne'er,  though  keen  the  blow,  will  I  repine.' — 
Few  days  had  pass'd,  when  lo,  before  her  stood 
Her  living  son,  escap'd  from  distant  wood, 
When  captive  led,  in  ambushment  unslain. 
And  now  the  sudden  change  of  her  mind's  mood 
Had  wellnigh  sent  wild  fancies  to  her  brain, — 
Thus  seeing  him,  she  had  not  hop'd  to  see  again. 


134  VALE   OF   HOOSATUNNUK. 

18. 

Hast  thou  not  seen  along  the  field  wide-spread, 
When  swift-wing'd  clouds  were  passing  through 

the  sky, 

How  light  and  shade  successively  have  fled 
In  rapid  speed,  like  coursers  rushing  by ; — 
Now  nature  beaming  forth  most  gloriously, 
And  now  a  chilling  gloom  outspread  around? 
In  this  man's  earthly  state  we  may  descry, 
Which  ne'er  is  fix'd,  but  ever  changeful  found, 
Till  midnight  shades  of  death  envelop  all  the  ground. 

19. 

Wunnissoo  had  been  griev'd,  then  rapt  in  joy, 
And  fill'd  with  overwhelming  gratitude  ; — 
But  ne'er  is  earthly  bliss  without  alloy ; 
Full  soon  she  lost  her  new  recover'd  good. 
The  fever,  plague  of  northern  latitude, 
Through  Waunseet's  youthful  veins  was  creeping 

slow, 

And  undermining  all  youth's  hardihood. 
He  sunk  from  day  to  day  beneath  the  blow, 
Till,  triumphing,  he  bid  adieu  to  all  below. 


CANTO   IV.  135 

20. 

Ah,  who  in  this  low  world  would  always  live, 
And  see  his  being  here  unmeasurM  grow, 
Lost  to  the  bliss,  which  brighter  worlds  may  give, 
The  joys  untasted,  which  in  heav'n  do  flow  ? 
The  heart  with  earthly  bliss,  in  sooth,  may  glow  ; 
But  'tis  like  meteor's  light  in  midnight  sky, 
That  sudden  shoots  a  beam  on  earth  below, 
Shining  aloft  one  moment  gloriously, 
Then  vanishing  away  from  dark  and  dreary  eye. 

21. 

Hast  thou  a  sweet  companion  of  thy  way, 
Fair  as  the  snow-white  lily  of  the  lake, 
Mild  as  the  breath  of  morn  in  fragrant  May, 
Of  firmest  love,  which  time  can  never  shake  ? 
Oh  envied  wight !     Of  bliss  thou  dost  partake, 
Pure  and  of  high  degree.     But  hark,  a  moan ! 
Alas,  thy  blissful  heart  with  grief  doth  break, 
For  the  blest  angel  of  thy  path  is  gone, 
And  thou  dost  walk  a  weary  pilgrim  all  alone. 


136  VALE    OP  HOOSATUNNUK. 

22. 

Beneath  thy  shade  springs  there  a  glorious  plant, 
Fair  image  of  the  parent  tree  so  nigh  ? 
Its  form  has  ev'ry  grace  and  charm,  I  grant ; 
Its  blooming  flow'rs  are  gladd'ning  to  the  eye. 
But  frowning  clouds  are  gath'ring  in  the  sky ; — 
Now  comes  the  icy  storm  in  fury  down, 
And  smites  thy  gentle  plant  unpiteously, 
While  all  about  the  ground  confus'd  are  strown 
The  honors  of  thy  son,  a  transcript  of  thine  own. 

23. 

Such  grief,  O  Spenser,  bard  of  Faery  Queen, 
And  desolation  such  did  thee  befall : 
Such  was  thy  mournful  destiny,  I  ween, 
When  rebel  fury  smote  thy  castle  wall, 
Beneath  whose  stroke  it  totter'd  to  its  fall. 
And  thou  from  raging  storm  didst  fly  in  dread, 
Leaving  behind  what  thou  couldst  not  recall, — 
Thy    beauteous    child, — like    flow'r    on    desert 

spread, — 
Crush'd  by  the  hoof  of  fiery  war-horse  in  his  tread. 


CANTO   IV.  137 

.  24. 

Such  too  thy  grief,  O  Beattie,  Scotia's  pride, 
For  well  may  virtuous  Scotland  boast  of  thee, 
Champion  of  Virtue  and  of  Truth  allied, 
And  minstrel  too  of  lofty  fantasy. 
In  manly  youth,  with  mind  enlarg'd  and  free, 
Thy  son  was  torn  away.     Thy  heart  oppressed 
Was  desolate,  like  wreck  afloat  at  sea, 
Borne  unresisting  by  each  wave  unblest, 

Till,  whelm'd  beneath  the  flood,  there  came  the 
promis'd  rest. 

25. 

How  idle,  then,  the  poet's  visions  fair  ? — 
But  dreams  of  uncurb'd  fancy  in  the  night, — 
But  unsubstantial  castles  in  the  air, 
Built  on  the  changing  clouds  in  rapid  flight ! 
We  need  the  hope  of  good  beyond  our  sight, 
The  confidence  of  bliss  beyond  the  skies, 
The  joys  of  piety,  the  Spirit's  might, 
The  beams  of  kindness  from  a  Saviour's  eyes, 

That  under  heaviest  weight  of  woe  we  strong  may 
rise. 


138  VALE    OF   HOOSATUNNUK. 

26. 

Is  there  no  cause,  that  wakes  the  tempest's  rage  ? 
Is  nought  exacted  but  the  bitter  tear, 
And  ling'ring  grief,  which  time  can  scarce  assuage  ? 
Ye  smitten  men !  this  needful  lesson  hear : — 
The  storm  should  lash  the  pois'nous  atmosphere  : 
If  worldly  bliss  a  film  spread  o'er  the  eye, 
The  vision  must  be  purg'd  by  hand  severe ; 
The  film  must  be  remov'd,  or  turn'd  awry, 
To  ope  the  way  for  glorious  beam  from  God  on  high. 

27. 

Full  well  we  need  the  discipline  of  woe. 
A  worldly,  narrow  heart,  and  darksome  mind, 
The  love  of  ev'ry  bright  deceit  below, 
Contempt  of  moral  good  enlarg'd,  refined, 
Of  direful  threats  a  fearlessness  most  blind, 
And  equal  unbelief  of  promis'd  good, 
With  base  ingratitude  for  love  most  kind  ; — 
These  swarm  in  man,  as  flies  on  carrion  food, 
And  call  for  sharp  correction  of  such  desp'rate  mood. 


CANTO   IV.  139 

28. 
Yet  vain  to  most  is  chastisement  applied, 

.    The  hand,  that  smites,  unseen  by  sinful  eye. 
The  loss  of  good  oft  rouses  angry  pride, 
And  oft  calls  forth  the  heavy,  hopeless  sigh. 
One  to  the  place  of  folly  then  will  fly, 
Or  take  the  wildering  cup  his  grief  to  drown, 
Or  weave  anew  the  tissue  of  a  lie, 
Or  cast  afloat  new  hopes,  as  bubbles  blown, 

Or  seek  to  build  again  the  structure  overthrown. 

29. 

Wunnissoo  wept  indeed,  yet  scarce  knew  why. 
For  her  dear  boy  she  could  not  weep,  removed 
From  sin  and  sufPring  to  his  God  on  high  ; 
Present  with  Him,  whom  she  supremely  loved ; 
Secure  beyond  all  danger,  and  approved, 
As  she  might  hope,  by  final  Judge  of  men : 
She  would  not  call  him  back  :  it  then  behooved 
Her  to  rejoice.     And  for  herself  the  pain 
Was  needful  and  would  prove  her  everlasting  gain. 


140  VALE   OF  HOOSATUNNUK. 

30. 

'  My  garden  draws  my  steps/ — I  hear  her  say, — 
'  When,  dropping  many  a  seed  in  the  soft  ground, 
Nought  but  brown  earth  my  busy  eyes  survey ; 
But  hope  foresees  the  change,  which  soon  is  found. 
Let  warmer  airs  their  influence  breathe  around, 
Let  rams  descend,  and  glowing  suns  arise  ; 
The  embryo  life,  that  seem'd  to  sleep  profound, 
Will  rise  in  beauteous  flow'rs  before  my  eyes, 

Cloth'd  with  the  wondrous  hues  of  sunset  autumn 
skies. 

31. 

1  Who  works  this  wonder?  Tis  the  blessed  Power, 
Whose  promise,  that  the  sleeping  dust  shall  wake 
And  have  immortal  life  at  destin'd  hour, 
Cheers  my  sad  heart.    Th'  eternal  morn  will 

break, 

And  mould'ring  bodies  forms  of  beauty  take. 
Then  sleep,  my  lov'd  ones,  till  the  time  shall  be, 
When  angel  trump  the  solid  earth  shall  shake. 
O,  bliss  beyond  all  thought,  again  to  see 

The  faces,  that  I  lov'd,  in  heav'nly  ecstasy ! 


CANTO   IV.  141 

32. 

*  More  thrilling  still  and  higher  my  delight, 
When  I  my  Saviour's  face  shall  also  see, 
God's  only  Son,  with  glory  beaming  bright.  v 
I  mourn  o'er  those  I  lov'd,  and  that  lov'd  me : — 
O,  how  their  beauty  shone  resplendently  ? 
But  grace,  with  loftiest  dignity  combined, 
Transcending  all,  that  meets  the  worldly  eye, 
From  Christ  shall  pour  on  ev'ry  holy  mind 
A  tide  of  heav'nly  bliss  and  raptures  undefined.' — 

33. 

The  mind,  that  loves  the  ways  of  Providence, 
In  all  things  sees  the  beams  of  good  and  right. 
So  have  I  seen  the  wide  magnificence 
Of  nature  with  the  purest  ice  bedight, 
When  ev'ry  tree  and  branch  was  vested  bright 
With  crystal  garb,  as  if  by  magic  wove, 
And  ev'ry  twig  did  glitter  on  the  sight 
Loaded  with  gems, — a  glorious  diamond  grove, — 
Fit  emblem  of  the  world,  when  seen  with  eyes  of 
love. 


145  VALE  OF  HOOSATUNNUK. 

34. 

The  mighty  sun,  great  source  of  light  and  joy, 
His  race  unwearied  runs ;  the  silver  moon 
Walks  in  her  brightness  through  the  silent  sky, 
Queen  of  the  glitt'ring  hosts  at  night's  mild  noon; 
The  earth,  with  countless  forms  of  beauty  strown, 
The  kindness  and  the  pow'r  divine  displays, 
With  living  beings  fill'd,  the  fair  and  boon. 
The  world  is  one  wide  temple  to  the  praise 
Of  Him,  who  built  it,  and  is  good  hi  all  his  ways. 

35. 

Though  sin,  like  rushing  torrent,  sweeps  along, 
And  wastes  the  bliss  of  ev'ry  heart  impure ; 
Yet  to  the  holy  man,  in  virtue  strong, 
Belying  on  his  Father's  promise  sure, 
And  on  his  mercy,  which  doth  aye  endure, 
No  evil  happens.     From  his  righteous  path 
To  wicked  ways  no  tempter  shall  allure : 
On  him  shall  never  fall  the  blazing  wrath 
Of  God  offended,  which  the  sinning  man  shall  scath. 


CANTO   IV.  143 

36. 

Wunnissoo  throve  beneath  the  primer's  hand, 
As  tree,  whose  laf ral,  lower  branches  gone, 
Grows  upward  with  more  rapid  growth.    The 

band, 

Fast'ning  her  to  the  earth,  dissolved,  alone 
In  this  wide  world,  she  sought  a  heav'nly  throne ; 
Yet  sought  it  by  the  deeds  of  holy  love, — 
By  list'ning  to  affliction's  humble  moan, — 
By  soft'ning  others'  cares,  while  yet  she  strove 

By  truth  and  pray'r  to  guide  full  many  to  fieav*n 
above. 

37. 

She  travell'd  into  years,  and  long  survived 
Her  first  beloved  teacher,  friend,  and  guide ; 
And  e'en  her  second  pastor  she  outlived, — 
Edwards, — whose  mighty  intellect  descried 
Deep  mysteries,  errors  with  truth  allied, 
And  threw  broad  light  on  darkness  of  the  mind ; 
Yet  who,  unhurt  by  philosophic  pride, 
Toil'd  to  instruct  the  Indian  unrefined, 

The  wand'ring  to  reclaim,  the  fetter'd  to  unbind. 


144  VALE    OF  HOOSATUNNUK. 

38. 

Her  death  was  tranquil,  as  her  life  was  good : 
No  fearful  shapes  were  gliding  in  her  sight, 
Nor  chang'd  her  mind's  serene  and  heaVnly  mood. 
Her  countenance  was  calm,  save  that  the  light 
Of  joy  and  hope  sublime  broke  forth  in  might, 
As  visions  of  the  future  fill'd  her  eye, — 
Visions  of  quicken'd  frame,  and  mansions  bright, 
Of  radiant  hosts  of  blessed  saints  on  high, — 

Her  Saviour's  form,  and  raptures  of  eternity ! 

• 

39. 

So,  when  the  sun  was  set  in  autumn's  eve, 
And  dark,  irreg'lar  line  of  clouds  hung  low, 
Like  alpine  range,  yet  space  beneath  did  leave 

•^ 

Of  purest  sky,  while  all  above  the  glow 
Of  richest  hues  was  spread  on  clouds  of  snow, 
I've  gaz'd,  entranc'd,  with  fix'd,  unsated  eye, 
As  on  a  distant,  soften'd  mountain's  brow 
And  tranquil  silver  sea,  in  which  did  lie 
The  islands  of  the  blest,  while   glory  beam'd  on 
high. 


CANTO   IV.  145 

40. 
'  Long  have  I  liv'd,' — she  said, — '  and  tried  th' 

extremes, 

Wisely  arrang'd,  of  earthly  grief  and  joy; — 
Along  my  path  were  shed  now  heav'nly  gleams, 
And  now  the  shades,  that  fall  from  troubled  sky : 
But  all  is  vanish'd  from  my  death-struck  eye. 
Farewell  to  all  the  scenes  of  earth  beneath : 
I  go  to  share  th'  unmingled  bliss  on  high  ! ' — 
When  this  was  utter'd  with  her  failing  breath, 
Wunnissoo  clos'd  her  eyes  in  peacefulness  of  death. 

•    41. 

The  visions  of  a  dying  saint  are  true. 

Death  will  but  lead  to  life  of  endless  years, 
The  grave  to  heav'n,  where  joy  is  ever  new. 
Then  wherefore  do  we  shed  the  bitter  tears, 
As  friend  of  Jesus  sinks  and  disappears  ? 
Think  you,  that  eye  will  ne'er  again  unclose, 
Nor  sound  e'er  pierce  the  portals  of  those  ears  ? 
Think  you,  those  lips  will  ne'er  the  thought  disclose, 
And  that  the  marble  frame  ne'er  wakes  from  long 
repose  ? 
10 


146  VALE   OF   HOOSATUNNUK. 

42. 

The  many-footed  caterpillar  creeps 

His  destin'd  period  slow  along  the  ground, 

Then  weaves  his  web,  in  which  he  dies,  and  sleeps, 

While  northern  streams  in  icy  chains  are  bound : 

But  when  the  spring  returns,  and  merry  sound 

Of  songsters  fills  the  grove  with  melody, 

He  bursts  the  cerements,  that  had  wrapp'd  him 

round, 

And  comes  forth  in  a  form,  that  charms  the  eye, 
To  float  aloft  in  air  a  gilded  butterfly. 

43. 

And  shall  then  man,  more  noble  than  a  worm, 
Created,  like  the  worm,  by  pow'r  of  God, 
Ne'er  feel  the  influence,  that  shall  change  his  form, 
But  always  sleep  beneath  the  valley's  clod  ? 
Shame  on  the  doubt :  it  should  receive  the  rod 
Of  sharp  rebuke  in  him,  who  well  descries, 
How  life  springs  up  from  ev'ry  vernal  sod, 
And  beauty  rises,  where  corruption  lies, — 
All  nature  teeming  with  still  deeper  mysteries. 


CANTO   IV.  147 

44. 

What  reason  must  admit,  by  faith  is  known ; 
And  faith  is  reason's  trust  in  word  divine. 
On  dead  man's  tomb  once  lay  a  sealed  stone, 
While  Roman  guard  stood  watching  in  a  line ; — 
Vain  toil  that  side-pierc'd  sleeper  to  confine ! 
For  lo,  the  warders  tremble  in  despair, 
For  earthquake  shook  the  ground  like  bursting 

mine, 

And  angel's  face  out-gleam'd  with  lightning-glare ; 
The  stone  was  roll'd  away ;  that  sleeper  is  not  there ! 

45. 

He  rose  the  first-fruits  of  the  harvest-grave, — 
Abundant  harvest,  not  for  sickle  ripe, 
But  rip'ning  ev'ry  day.     He  rose  to  save 
A  guilty  world,  for  which  he  bore  the  stripe, 
And  scoff  of  men,  the  mock'ry,  and  the  gripe 
Of  death.     He  rose ; — triumphant  he  did  rise, 
Away  the  shame  and  foul  reproach  to  wipe, 
And  bring  a  glorious  hope  to  man,  that  dies, 
And  reassume  his  disrob'd  glory  in  the  skies. 


148  VALE    OF   HOOSATUNNUK. 

46. 

And  as  He  rose,  so  all,  that  sleep  in  dust, 
In  the  great  day,  which  ends  the  earth's  career, 
Will  wake  from  death.  The  wicked  and  the  just, — 
The  tott'ring  frame,  that  fell  without  a  tear, 
The  beauteous  form,  to  weeping  eye  most  dear, 
The  parent,  brother,  sister,  child,  and  spouse, — 
Adam's  whole  race  will  rise  their  doom  to  hear. 
The  angel's  trump  will  pierce  each  narrow  house, 
And  e^ry  sleeper  from  his  dreamless  bed  will  rouse. 

47. 

Then  will  the  minist'ring  angel-bands  divide 
Th'  innum'rous  host,  as  shepherds  separate 
The  goats  from  sheep,  and  place  them  on  each 

side 

Of  glorious  Judge  on  his  pure  throne  elate, 
As  character  shall  draw  the  line  of  fate. 
Secrets  disclos'd,  disguises  torn  away, 
The  heart  alone,  as  fill'd  with  love  or  hate, 
And  acts,  which  law  regard  or  disobey, 
Will  seal  the  everlasting  doom  in  that  great  day. 


CANTO   IV.  149 

48. 

Ah,  what  avail  the  monarch's  golden  crown, 
And  purple  robes  of  earthly  dignity 
With  pearls  and  glitt'ring  diamonds  thickly  strOwn, 
If  now  the  culprit  lifts  his  conscious  eye, 
Plac'd  on  the  left  of  heav'n's  bright  majesty? 
His  pow'r  abus'd,  and  truth  and  right  o'erthrown, 
Passion  uncheck'd,  though  suffrers  rais'd  their  cry, 
Pollution  wide-spread  from  the  tainted  throne, — 

Such  tow'ring  guilt  will  meet  the  Judge's  darkest 
frown. 

49. 

The  warrior  too,  who  once  with  eagle  eye 
Gaz'd  on  the  field  of  slaughter  outspread  wide, 
Who  lov'd  full  well  the  bloody  revelry, 
The  glorious  array  and  battle's  pride, 
And  deem'd  himself  a  god  the  storm  to  guide, — 
Will  now,  like  pale-fac'd  coward,  stand  aghast, 
His  fierceness  and  his  glory  laid  aside : 
He  shrinks,  as  woman  at  the  battle's  blast, 

And  moans  like  fallen  wretch,  whose  blood  is  well 
ing  fast. 


150  VALE  OF  HOOSATUNNUK. 

50. 

The  griping  miser  too,  that  wrung  his  gains 
From  the  poor  toiler's  weary  strength  and  food ; — 
The  rich  man,thoughno  crime  his  conscience  stains, 
Yet  faithless,  with  a  dearth  of  actions  good  ; — 
The  lustful  youth,  that  in  dark  solitude 
Sheds  with'ring  blast  on  beauteous  virgin's  fame ; 
The  man  with  mighty  intellect  endued, 
Who  hates  God's  truth : — all  these,  cast  down  and 

tame, 
Will  stand  dismay'd,  the  heirs  of  everlasting  shame. 

51. 

False,  cruel  priests,  that  in  high  places  sat, 
The  selfish  shepherds  too,  though  good  their  creed, 
That  cloth'd  them  with  the  wool,  and  ate  the  fat, 
But  fail'd  the  wand'ring  flock  to  guide  and  feed ; — 
The  proud  contemner  of  the  heav'nly  meed, — 
Dark  hypocrite,  who  wore  a  mask  of  white, — 
All,  who  are  mark'd  with  vile,  unholy  deed, 
All,  who  of  blessed  gospel's  sound  made  light, 
Will  look  with  anguish  on  the  Judge,  enthron'd  in 
light. 


CANTO   IV.  151 

52. 

'  Depart  ye  cursed,  into  quenchless  fire, 
Where  Satan  and  his  angels  fiercely  rave/ — 
To  them  the  Judge  will  say  in  righteous  ire : — 
'  For  I  was  hungry,  and  no  meat  ye  gave, 
Thirsty,  and  yet  no  drink  from  death  to  save ; 
In  prison,  and  my  woe  ye  would  not  see ; 
In  sickness,  sinking  fast  into  the  grave, 
And  coldly  ye  withheld  due  charity : — 
Ye  did  it  not  to  these, — ye  did  it  not  to  ine  ! ' 

53. 

O,  this  is  not  a  dream  of  fancy  wild, 
Nor  bugbear  to  restrain  the  vulgar  throng, 
Nor  idle  tale  to  terrify  the  child, 
Incredible  by  man  of  reason  strong. 
The  Judge  himself,  whose  words  the  skeptics 

wrong, 

This  awful  scene  has  spread  out  to  the  eye, 
Warning  to  all.     Nor  will  the  time  be  long, 
Ere,  reader,  thou  wilt  find,  'tis  not  a  lie, 
But  truth  of  God  and  terrible  reality. 


152  VALE   OF  HOOSATUNNUK. 

54. 

Terrible,  but  not  to  thee,  if  on  the  right 
Thou  then  shalt  stand  among  the  good  and  wise ; 
If  in  the  Saviour's  likeness,  pure  and  bright, 
Thou  liftest  to  thy  friend  thy  raptur'd  eyes. 
Oh,  blessed  hosts,  heirs  of  the  crystal  skies, 
To  glory  rising  from  dishonor'd  graves ! 
Ye  now  shall  find,  that  virtue  never  dies  ; 
That  martyr's  zeal,  which  tyrant's  arm  outbraves, 
Leads  to  a  radiant,  heav'nly  throne,  where  Jesus 

saves. 

55. 

There  stand  the  prophets  and  apostles  true, 
And  all  good  champions  of  the  faith.   There  stand 
The  heroic  suff'rers  for  the  doctrine  new, — 
The  scoff  in  early  age  of  Roman  band ; 
And  all  in  later  days,  who  bore  the  brand, 
The  scourge,  the  wheel  and  rack,  and  kindling 

flame, — 

Torments,  by  modern  Roman  tyrant  planned, — 
False  priest,  assuming  good  and  holy  name, 
But  now  an  outcast  with  those  wretched  heirs  of 

shame. 


CANTO  IV.  153 

56. 

There  are  the  heralds  of  the  cross,  whose  zeal 
And  vig'rous  faith,  and  heav'nly  charity 
Dissolv'd  the  tend'rest  ties,  which  mortals  feel, 
And  urg'd  them  o'er  the  waste  of  boist'rous  sea, 
That  they  might  preach  glad  tidings,  and  set  free 
The  slaves  of  Satan  from  their  galling  chain,   . 
And  give  them  truth's  eternal  liberty, — 
Freedom  from  superstition,  sin,  and  pain  ; — 

That  Saviour's  blood,  unknown,  might  not  be  shed 
in  vain. 

57. 

There  in  resplendent  form  of  glory  shine 
All  holy  men,  whose  lives  their  goodness  prove, 
Whose  minds  receiv'd  the  rays  of  truth  divine, 
And  hearts  were  kindled  with  the  Saviour's  love. 
Though  once  in  various  conflicts  fierce  they  strove, 
And  bore  an  untold  weight  of  earthly  woe, — 
The  chastisement  from  hand  of  God  above 
Deserv'd,  though  still  in  kindness  sent ;   yet  now 

Their  Master  plants  unwith'ring  crown  upon  their 
brow. 


154  VALE   OF  HOOSATDNNUK. 

58. 

He  says, — '  ye  blessed  of  my  Father,  come,— 
Heirs  of  the  kingdom  high,  for  you  prepared 
Ere  earth  was  fonn'd, — possess  your  final  home ; 
For  in  my  want  your  goods  I  freely  shared ; 
And  when  in  loathsome  prison,  undebarred 
By  pride  and  shame,  ye  came  my  grief  to  know : 
Such  love  to  mine  your  love  to  me  declared.' — 
Then  have  the  righteous  endless  life ;   but,  lo, 
The  wicked  pass  away,  deep  plung'd  in  endless  woe ! 

59. 

Swept  quickly  off  by  whirlwind's  sudden  blast, 
A  calm  is  left  and  clear,  transparent  sky ; 
When  blessed  host  themselves  do  prostrate  cast 
In  adoration  of  the  King  on  high ; 
And  then  they  strike  the  joyous  minstrelsy, 
That  through  all  heav'n's  echoing  arches  rings, — 
1  Eternal  praise  to  God's  high  majesty, 
And  glory,  honor,  pow'r,  and  thanksgivings 
Be  thine,   O  holy  Lamb,  whose  blood  salvation 
brings ! ' 


CANTO  IV.  155 


HYMN  OF  THE  REDEEMED. 

'  Holy,  holy,  holy,  Almighty  God, 

Who  wast,  and  art,  and  art  for  aye  to  come ! 

Most  worthy  Thou  to  bear  the  sovereign  rod, 

And  sway  all  worlds  beneath  th'  empyrean  dome,-— 

Both  settled  orbs  of  light,  and  orbs  that  roam ; 

Worthy  by  all  their  hosts  to  be  obeyed, 

For  thou  all  worlds  and  all  their  hosts  hast  made. 

'  And  worthy  Thou,  the  Lamb  of  sacrifice, 
To  bear  the  honors  of  thy  glorious  state ! 
To  Thee  all  blessing,  praise,  and  thanks  shall  rise, 
And  nought  thy  full-orb'd  glories  shall  abate, — 
The  Father's  Son  at  his  right  hand  elate ; 
For  Thou  wast  once  for  our  redemption  slain, 
And  crucified  on  yonder  smoking  plain. 

'  There  our  first  breath  did  draw  the  tainted  air, 
And  there  contagious  guilt  had  seiz'd  our  mind ; 


156  VALE   OP  HOOSATDNNTJK. 

And  we  had  perish'd  in  forlorn  despair, 
But  Thou  the  wondrous,  healing  balm  didst  find, 
And  in  thy  skill  the  wounds  of  sin  didst  bind : 
Thou  didst  outpour  upon  the  cross  thy  blood, 
And  we  were  wash'd  in  the  red,  sacred  flood. 

*  When  all  our  thoughts  sunk  down,  like  nightly 

dews, 

Precipitated  to  the  dark,  cold  earth, 
The  holy,  blessed  Spirit  did  infuse 
New  hopes  and  joys,  and  give  a  heav'nly  birth, 
Stamping  God's  form  on  mould  of  little  worth ; 
For  such  was  God's  decree  of  boundless  love, 
Electing  mortals  to  this  bliss  above. 

*  Then  straight  we  breath'd  a  pure  and  joyous  air ; 
Bright  visions  cheer'd  us  in  our  heav'nward  way 
Midst  earthly  woe,  and  strife,  and  want,  and  care 
Thy  steadfast  promise  was  our  firmest  stay, 
And  nought  could  shake  our  hope,  nor  bring  dis 
may : 

E'en  when  we  walk'd  through  death's  terrific  vale, 
His  darts  struck  harmless  our  celestial  mail. 


CANTO    IV.  157 

'  And  now  we  bend  before  th'  eternal  throne, 
With  body  disenthrall'd  from  chains  of  night, 
And  glorious,  like  thine  own,  0  Holy  One, 
And  spirit  pure  as  this  infolding  light, 
While  all  the  Godhead  beams  upon  our  sight ; — 
Snatch'd  from  yon  whirlwind's  blast,  and  full  en 
dued 
With  blessed  heaven's  illimitable  good ! 

'  Keen  thirst  and  hunger  we  shall  feel  no  more, 
Nor  shall  the  noonday  sun  our  strength  bring 

low; 

No  lightnings  here  will  strike,  nor  tempests  roar ; 
No  pain  shall  rack,  no  bitter  tear  shall  flow, 
Nor  aught  of  ill  be  felt,  we  knew  below. 
The  living  fount  of  joy  here  pours  its  tide ; 
And,  Jesus,  thou  in  our  bright  path  dost  guide ! 

1  To  Thee  we  owe  the  diadem,  we  wear, 
Mocking  the  earthly  diamond-glitt'ring  crown  ; 
To  Thee  we  owe  th'  unmeasured  bliss,  we  share, 
Th'  immortal  glories,  thick  around  us  strown  ; 


158  VALE   OP  HOOSATUNNUK. 

And  our  deep  debt  we  will  forever  own ; 
For  thou  didst  stoop  to  raise  us  to  this  height, 
And  fix  our  home  in  this  out-beaming  light. 

'  Then,  while  th'  eternal  cycles  hold  their  way, 
We'll  shout  aloud  love's  rapt'rous,  ceaseless  song. 
To  Thee,  whose  hands  the  scars  of  love  display, — 
Saviour  from  ev'ry  tribe  of  countless  throng, — 
To  Thee  do  wisdom,  honor,  pow'r  belong ! 
Salvation  to  our  God  on  his  high  throne, 
And  to  the  Lamb,  the  slain  and  Holy  One ! ' 


CANTO    IV.  159 


WRITTEN   AFTER    THE    FUNERAL    OF   MY  BELOVED 
WIFE,   WHO   DIED    JUNE    3,    1828,    AGED    40. 


MY  MALLEVILLE  !  I've  plac'd  thee  in  the  grave, 
And  tliou  dost  sleep  now  calmly  with  the  dead ; 
And  there  wilt  sleep  till  He,  whose  arm  doth  save, 
Shall  lift  thee  from  thy  lowly,  silent  bed ; 
Shall  call  thee  forth,  as  spring-flow'r  bursts  the 

clod, 
To  bloom  above  before  the  throne  of  God ! 

Thrice  five  times  have  I  seen  the  vernal  grove 
Put  forth  its  budding  honors  green  and  fair, 
Since  first  thy  hand  was  mine,  thy  virgin-love, 
Thy  loyal  heart,  and  tender  zeal  and  care  : — 
And  all  this  while  thy  soul  hath  cleav'd  to  mine 
With  ties  of  purity  and  strength  divine. 


160  VALE   OF   HOOSATUNNUK. 

How  lovely  was  thy  face,  when  in  the  bloom 
Of  youth  it  beam'd  upon  my  raptur'd  eye  ? 
How  lovely,  when,  o'erpast  the  mother's  doom, 
It  gaz'd  upon  thy  babes  so  tenderly  ? 
No  face, — I've  thought  in  many  a  blessed  hour, — 
Was  fram'd  like  thine  for  sweetness  and  for  power. 

But  I  have  seen  thee  in  thy  deep  repose, — 
The  sleep  of  death  ; — and  there  was  loveliness, 
Which  nought  of  living  beauty  ever  shows, 
And  which  no  earthly  language  can  express ; — 
A  holy  calm,  like  the  still  vault  above, 
And  dignity,  which  spoke  of  heav'nly  love  ! 

But,  O,  how  lovely  will  thy  form  appear, 
When  all  the  slumb'rers  in  the  silent  ground 
Shall  the  archangel's  piercing  trumpet  hear, 
And  rise  to  judgment,  as  they  catch  the  sound? 
Then  will  thy  face  beam  radiance  divine, 
For  Jesus'  glorious  likeness  will  be  thine ! 

Would  I  recall  thee  to  this  painful  life  ? 
I  would  not,  if  my  broken  heart  I  know,— 


CANTO  IV.  161 

No,  not  again  as  friend  and  lovely  wife ; 
For  thou  art  safe.     Let  raging  tempests  blow, 
And  toss  my  shatter'd  bark  on  angry  sea ; 
No  storm  nor  billow  can  extend  to  thee ! 

Thy  form  sleeps  where  the  weary  are  at  rest ; 
But,  high  above  this  ball  of  mist  and  shade, 
Thy  purest  spirit  is  in  heav'n  most  blest, 
And  nought  thy  rapt'rous  bliss  shall  e'er  invade, 
For  thou  dost  dwell  in  God's  eternal  light, 
And  thou  art  guarded  by  his  arm  of  might. 

A  few  sad  hours  have  fled,  since  thou  didst  say, 
When  from  short  absence  I  return'd  to  thee, — 
'  This  unto  me  has  been  a  weary  day, 
Longing  my  darling  friend  again  to  see.'— 
Alas  !  when  next  were  spread  the  shades  of  night, 
The  damps  of  death  were  settled  on  thy  sight ! 

Yet  was  thy  love  unfaltering  in  death ; 
For  even  in  thy  parting  agony 
Thou  didst  suppress  the  struggling  of  thy  breath 
11 


162  VALE   OP  HOOSATUNNUK. 

To  listen  to  thy  husband's  broken  cry, 

As  thy  cold,  pulseless  hand  he  wildly  grasped, 

And  pray'd  his  hold  might  not  yet  be  unclasped. 

I've  lost  thy  love,  the  chosen  of  my  heart ! 
Thine  eye  is  dark ;  and  all  thy  winning  smile 
No  more  the  thrilling  gladness  will  impart, 
Nor  thronging,  idle  cares  and  griefs  beguile. 
The  charm  of  life  is  gone ;  its  hues  are  fled ; 
And  earth's  bright  hopes  extinct,  since  thou  art 
dead! 

Yet  long  we've  deem'd  life  but  a  meteor's  glare, 
And  all  the  hues  of  life  illusions  vain, 
And  all  earth's  hopes  a  false,  deceitful  flare, 
Since  nought,  we  hold  most  dear,  can  we  retain. 
Thus  have  we  thought  and  said,  but  now  I  feel ; 
I  welcome  too  the  woe,  for  thine's  the  weal ! 

I've  lost  thy  love ;  for  in  that  tide  of  light, 
Which  from  the  throne  of  God  doth  ever  flow, 
And  near  th'  eternal  fountain  of  delight 


CANTO  rv.  163 

No  thought  of  thine  can  reach  this  world  below. 
Though  seraph  on  earth's  mission  swiftly  flies, 
Thy  rest  is  in  the  blessed  paradise. 

And  thou  art  joining  in  the  heav'nly  song, 
Bursting,  like  torrent,  from  the  harps  of  gold, 
Resounding  through  heaven's  arches  by  the  throng 
Of  ransom'd  sinners,  and  with  joys  untold, — 
'  Let  wisdom,  honor,  pow'r  in  highest  strain 
To  Thee,  O  Lamb,  be  paid,  for  thou  wast  slain ! ' 

I've  lost  thy  love ;  and  yet  it  is  not  lost, 
For  all  thy  bliss  and  rapture  shall  be  mine  ! 
A  few  more  days  on  angry  billows  tost, 
And  my  freed  spirit  shall  be  join'd  with  thine : 
Together  from  the  dust  our  forms  shall  rise, 
And  love  will  beam  again  from  thy  blue  eyes  ! 


it  $Ult  nf 


NOTES. 


WUNNISSOO,  the  name  of  the  leading  character  in 
this  poem,  means  in  the  Hoosatunnuk  language,  '  She  is 
beautiful ;'  and  it  must  be  allowed  to  be  a  word  of  a  sweet 
Indian  sound. 

As  of  the  four  hymns,  which  close  the  cantos  of  this 
poem,  the  first  happens  to  be  without  a  title,  with  which 
each  of  the  three  others  is  furnished,  perhaps  it  would 
be  brought  into  harmony  with  them  by  what  may  be 
deemed  an  appropriate  title,  '  The  Youth  embarking  in 
the  Voyage  of  Life.' 

Through  HoosatunnuUs  vale  there  flows  the  stream. 

Canto  I.  st.  1. 

THE  County  of  Berkshire,  50  miles  by  20  in  extent, 
the  most  western  county  and  most  elevated  territory  of 
the  State  of  Massachusetts,  borders  on  New  York  on  the 
west,  Vermont  on  the  north,  and  Connecticut  on  the 
south.  It  lies  chiefly  in  the  vale  of  the  Hoosatunnuk, 
though  resting  in  part  on  a  mountain  ridge  on  each  side, 
on  the  east  and  the  west,  and  including  Saddle  Moun- 


168  NOTES. 

tain  on  the  north.  Mount  Washington  is  at  the  south 
west  corner.  The  River  Hoosatunnuk,  flowing  through 
this  valley,  is  constituted  by  two  branches,  from  Windsor 
and  Lanesborough,  which  unite  in  Pittsfield,  whence  it 
takes  a  southerly  course,  and,  after  enriching  also  the 
towns  of  Lenox,  Lee,  Stockbridge,  Great  Harrington, 
and  Sheffield,  and  moving  the  thousands  of  wheels  of 
manufacturing  establishments,  passes  through  the  State 
of  Connecticut,  and  empties  into  Long  Island  Sound  at 
Stratford,  midway  between  the  Connecticut  and  the 
Hudson  rivers. 

The  valley,  occupied  by  these  six  beautiful  and  flour 
ishing  towns,  bears  the  name  of  the  river :  it  is  the  Vale 
of  the  Hoosatunnuk.  Dr.  Dwight,  in  his  Travels,  says, 
the  true  word  is  Hooestennuc,  meaning, — on  the  au 
thority  of  Dr.  Jonathan  Edwards,  who  was  skilled  in  the 
Indian  language, — "over  the  mountain."  Its  composi 
tion  from  any  Indian  words  is  not  known. 

Pittsfield  being  in  the  centre  of  Berkshire,  the  towns 
at  the  north  are  Lanesborough,  Cheshire,  Adams,  and 
Williamstown :  from  the  last  place  the  Hoosuck  River 
flows  to  the  north  and  west  and  empties  into  the  Hudson. 

The  Indian  names  of  rivers,  lakes,  mountains,  towns, 
and  states,  which  are  still  retained  in  our  country,  are 
frequently  names  of  great  beauty  and  significance.  The 
Connecticut  means  the  long  river ;  the  Kennebec,  the 
snake  river ;  the  Mississippi,  the  great  river.  What  fine 
sounding  names  are  the  Susquehanna,  the  Monongahela, 
the  Shenandoah,  the  Potomac,  the  Rappahannock,  the 
Alabama  ? 


NOTES.  169 

In  the  centre  of  Massachusetts  is  a  mountain,  called 
Wachuset,  which  is  the  Indian  word  for  mountain, — it 
being  indeed  a  mountain  by  way  of  eminence,  the  highest 
in  that  region.  The  Indian  word  Massachuset  is  com 
pounded  of  the  words  Massa,  great,  and  Wachuset, 
mountain,  meaning  great  mountain.  Koger  Williams 
says,  "  I  had  learnt,  that  the  Massachusetts  was  called  so 
from  the  Blue  Hills,  a  little  island  thereabout  [in  Narra- 
ganset  Bay]  ;  and  Canonicus's  father  and  ancestors,  liv 
ing  in  those  southern  parts,  transferred  and  brought  their 
authority  and  name  into  those  northern  parts."  Smith 
calls  the  Blue  Hill  of  Milton,  the  highest  hill  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Boston,  "  the  high  mountain  of  Massa- 
chusit." 

Pontoosuc  then  the  spot,  now  Pittsfield  named. 

Canto  I.  st.  C. 

That  part  of  the  valley  of  the  Hoosatunuuk,  which  is 
now  occupied  by  Pittsfield,  was  called  by  the  Indians 
Pontoosuc  ;  and  the  west  branch  of  the  river,  Hoosatun- 
nuk,  which  in  this  town  unites  with  the  east  branch,  is 
called  the  Pontoosuc.  The  first  white  settlement  was 
made  in  1752.  At  a  town  meeting  in  1753,  it  was  voted 
to  build  a  meeting-house  and  to  raise  money  for  the  sup 
port  of  a  religious  teacher.  In  1761,  Pontoosuc  was  in 
corporated  by  the  name  of  Pittsfield,  so  named  in  honor 
of  William  Pitt,  the  Earl  of  Chatham,  the  friend  of 
America. 

The  venerable  Elm,  which  still  stands  in  the  centre  of 
the  public  square,  was  spared,  when  the  other  forest  trees 


:' 


170  NOTES. 

were  cut  down.    It  is  126  feet  in  height,  and  its  trunk 
measures  90  feet,  ere  the  limbs  branch  out. 

Saddle  Mountain,  lying  in  Adams  and  Williamstown, 
about  20  miles  distant  at  the  north,  is  a  beautiful  object. 
Graylock  is  the  name  of  its  highest  peak,  about  2,800 
feet  above  the  valley  at  Williams  College  and  3,580  feet 
above  the  tide-water  at  Albany. 

A  father's  holy  face,  fyc. — Canto  I.  st.  7. 

Rev.  Thomas  Allen,  the  first  minister  of  Pittsfield, — a 
native  of  Northampton  and  a  graduate  of  Harvard  Col 
lege  in  1762,  in  a  distinguished  class,  including  Drs.  Eliot 
and  Belknap,  Judge  Francis  Dana,  and  Governor  Ger 
ry  > — was  ordained  April  18,  1764,"  and  died  Feb.  11, 
1810,  aged  67  years.  He  was  not  only  a  faithful  and  elo 
quent  minister,  but  a  patriot  of  the  Revolution,  a  chaplain 
in  the  army,  and  on  one  occasion  he  played  the  part  of 
a  soldier.  He  thought  it  his  duty  to  march  with  a  com 
pany  of  his  own  people  in  a  three  days'  campaign  to 
Bennington,  and  with  them  fought  in  the  successful  bat 
tle,  which  checked  the  advance  of  Burgoyne.  The  third 
day  he  returned  home,  and  the  next  day,  Sunday, 
preached  to  a  joyful  congregation.  I  remember  well 
two  large,  square,  white  flint-glass  bottles,  which  he 
brought  as  trophies,  captured  with  a  Hessian  surgeon's 
horse,  the  wine  of  which  he  gave  to  the  wounded. 

His  wife,  Elizabeth  Lee,  daughter  of  Jonathan  Lee, 
the  first  minister  of  Salisbury,  Conn.,  died  March  31, 
1830,  aged  82  years.  Her  descent  from  William  Brad 
ford,  the  distinguished  early  Governor  of  Plymouth, 


NOTES. 


171 


was  as  follows:  1.  His  son,  Major  William  Bradford ;  2. 
Alice  Bradford,  married  in  1674  Rev.  William  Adams 
of  Dedham;  3.  Abiel  Adams,  married  Rev.  Joseph 
Metcalf  of  Falmouth:  4.  Elizabeth  Metcalf  married 
Rev.  Jonathan  Lee. 

Of  their  12  children,  the  names  of  the  deceased, 
omitting  two  who  were  quite  young,  were  as  follows : 
Thomas  died  in  Boston,  a  member  of  the  Legislature 
from  Pittsfield,  in  1806,  aged  37  ;  Jonathan,  a  Senator, 
died  in  Pittsfield  in  1845,  aged  72;  Elizabeth,  married 
to  William  P.  White,  a  Boston  merchant,  died  in  London 
in  1 798,  aged  23  ;  George  Washington  died  in  Georgia 
in  1820,  aged  38  ;  ^Clarissa,  married  tf  rT?11"  T**'"ji1>i  t^~ 
Northampton,  died  in  183L  aped  52:  Captain  Samuel 
Lee  died  in  Georgia  in  1816,  aged  32  ;  Love,  married  to 
Eleazer  Wheelock  Ripley,  a  general  in  the  war  of  1812, 
died  in  Louisiana  in  1820,  aged  34 ;  Solomon  Metcalf,  a 
Professor  in  Middlebury  College,  Vermont,  died  in  1817, 
aged  28 ;  Elisha  Lee,  a  surgeon  in  the  army,  died  in 
Louisiana  in  1817,  aged  24. 

That  the  writer  of  this  is  now  a  solitary  pilgrim,  the 
only  survivor  of  such  a  large  family,  is  one  of  the  lessons 
of  providence  concerning  the  delusive,  vanishing  scenes 
of  the  earth,  which,  to  his  readers,  his  fellow-travellers 
on  this  little  globe,  he  has  aimed  to  teach  in  his  rhymes. 

Canto  I.  Stanza  11. 

The  origin  of  our  Indian  tribes  is  a  question  of  inter 
est.  As  all  men  descended  from  Adam,  and  as  the  human 
family  was  spread  from  Asia  over  the  earth,  the  question 


7 


172  NOTES. 

naturally  arises,  whence  was  the  American  continent 
settled  ?  And  yet  another  question  presents  itself, — 
were  all  the  ancient  inhabitants  of  America  descendants 
of  one  branch  of  the  eastern  family  ? 

As  it  is  only  40  miles  across  Behring's  Straits  between 
America  and  Asia,  that  is  doubtless  a  point,  at  which  the 
inhabitants  of  Northeastern  Asia  passed  over  into  Amer 
ica  and  spread  themselves  over  North  America.  There 
is  a  general  resemblance  among  a  multitude  of  the  Indian 
tribes  and  an  affinity  in  their  languages,  besides  that  many 
of  the  tribes  have  a  tradition,  that  they  came  from  the 
northwest. 

,.   .Introspect,  however,  to  the  Mexicans,  and  to  the  nu 
merous  tribes  of  the  West  Indies  and  Central  America 

•     -  •   •  •     ...»  .  •     •   -          ; 

from  Mexico  to  Panama,  and  of  South  America,  there  is 
reason  to  believe,  that  they  had  a  different  origin,  or  that 
some  of  them  had,  especially  the  tribes  of  Mexico  and 
Central  America.  The  difference  in  religion  and  in  the 
knowledge  of  sculpture  and  architecture  is  very  great 
and  striking. 

Mr.  George  Jones  published  in  London,  in  1843,  the 
History  of  Ancient  America,  in  which  he  advances  the 
theory,  that  the  inhabitants  of  North  America  were 
descendants  of  Israel,  and  those  of  Central  America  the 
descendants  of  the  Tyrians.  According  to  him,  Azelmic 
was  Bang  of  Tyre,  in  August,  332  years  before  Christ, 
when  the  city  was  taken  and  destroyed  by  Alexander ; 
and  the  fugitives  escaped  in  vessels  of  Sidon  and  sailed 
to  the  Canaries,  and  thence  to  America.  From  Teneriflfe 
to  Florida,  being  about  3,300  miles,  with  a  favorable 


NOTES.  173 

trade  wind,  the  voyage  could  be  made  in  a  month.  Thus 
this  first  migration  across  the  Atlantic  was  1824  years 
before  the  rediscovery  by  Columbus. 

As  to  the  proof  of  this  theory  the  writer  says,  there 
was  a  tradition  in  Mexico,  that  their  fathers  first  touched 
in  Florida.  Then  he  imagines,  that  he  finds  some  hints 
in  scriptural  prophecy  concerning  Tyre.  But  if  this 
and  one  or  two  other  arguments  should  be  unsatisfactory, 
another  argument  is  certainly  deserving  of  great  consid 
eration,  founded  on  the  resemblance  between  the  Tyrian 
religion  and  architecture  and  the  religion  and  architec 
ture  of  the  Mexicans  and  the  neighboring  tribes. 

The  North  American  Indians  have  no  architectural 

• 

stone  ruins ;  but  such  ruins  abound  in  Central  America, 
at  TJxmal,  Cholula,  Palenque,  Copan,  and  Yucatan,  for 
information  concerning  which  the  reader  is  referred  to 
Humboldt,  Stephens,  and  Norman.  The  pyramidal 
ruins,  with  the  peculiar  structures  on  them,  are  only 
traceable  as  Egypto-Tyrian  architecture.  The  sculptures 
also  prove  the  Tyrian  origin,  as  does  also  the  worship  of 
Saturn,  the  victim-craving  Moloch  of  Canaan's  descend 
ants.  From  the  Canaanites  sprang  Sidon,  then  Tyre, 
then  Carthage :  they  sacrificed  their  children  by  fire  to 
their  idols.  As  the  Tynans  sacrificed  them  to  Apollo,  or 
the  Sun,  so  the  Mexicans  made  the  same  sacrifices  in  the 
temple  of  the  Sun ;  and  Mr.  Squier,  in  his  work  on 
Nicaragua,  among  many  prints  of  stone  idols,  which  he 
discovered,  has  given  one  of  a  frightful  idol,  found  at 
Bensacola,  an  island  of  the  Nicaraguan  lake,  near  Gren 
ada,  the  eyes  of  which  are  large,  round,  and  staring,  the 


174  NOTES. 

mouth  widely  distended,  the  lower  jaw  held  down  by  the 
hands,  and  the  tongue  reaching  to  the  breast.  How 
awful  must  it  have  been  to  "  the  devotees  of  the  ancient 
religion,  when  the  bloody  priest  daubed  the  lapping 
tongue  with  the  yet  palpitating  hearts  of  his  human  vic 
tims  ?  " 

Such  is  the  theory  of  Mr.  Jones.  It  is  certainly  a  re 
markable  fact,  that  Central  America  is  distinguished  from 
North  America  by  its  architecture  and  sculptures  in 
stone  and  the  sacrifice  of  human  victims  to  idols  ;  and 
there  is  no  easier  nor  more  probable  explanation  of  the 
fact,  than  that  Central  America  was  settled  by  the  Phe- 
nicians  or  the  fugitives  of  Tyre,  15,000  of  whom  escaped 
in  the  ships  of  Sidon  from  the  flames  of  the  city. 

One  would  expect,  that  some  light  would  be  thrown 
upon  this  subject  by  the  examination  and  comparison  of 
languages.  Here  may  be  a  field  of  future  labor  and  dis 
covery.  At  present,  we  are  able  to  compare  the  lan 
guages  of  the  Mohegans  of  the  North,  of  the  Mexicans 
and  other  tribes  of  Central  Americans  three  or  four 
thousand  miles  distant,  and  of  the  Araucanians  or  Chili 
ans  as  many  miles  south  of  them  ;  and  we  find  no  affinity 
whatever  as  to  words.  It  is  remarkable  also,  that  in  this 
respect  there  is  a  perfect  dissimilarity  among  tribes  liv 
ing  near  each  other  in  Guatemala  and  Nicaragua. 

Mr.  Squier  has  given  a  table  of  200  words  in  the 
Nagrandan  and  Chorotegan  languages,  near  lake  Nicara 
gua  and  of  the  Mosquito,  but  in  the  three  languages  no 
two  words  appear  to  be  alike.  Thomas  Gage  says,  there 
were  18  languages  in  Guatemala.  The  Pochonchi,  of 


NOTES.  175 

which  he  gives  specimens,  has  no  resemblance  to  the 
foregoing  nor  to  the  Mexican.  To  this  last,  however, 
there  is  a  strong  resemblance  in  the  Niquiran,  near  the 
Bay  of  Fonseca,  which  is  accounted  for  by  the  Niquirans 
being  a  dispersed  colony  of  Mexicans.  It  is  remarkable, 
that  the  Araucanian  language  extends  1200  miles  along 
the  Pacific  coast :  but  this  has  no  resemblance  to  the 
Mexican,  in  which  the  letters  B,  D,  F,  G,  R,  and  S  are 
not  to  be  found  :  it  is  said,  that  in  the  Peruvian  also  B, 
D,  G,  R,  X,  and  Z  are  wanting.  But  in  the  Chilian  all 
the  words  terminate  in  the  six  vowels  and  in  B,  D,  F, 
G,  L,  M,  N,  R,  and  V. 

The  Indian  languages  are  rendered  peculiar  by  what 
are  called  bunch  words,  by  which  are  often  expressed  a 
whole  English  sentence  by  one  compound  word  ; — as  in 
Eliot's  Bible,  '  thou  hast  dove's  eyes '  is  in  Indian  in  one 
word,  which  any  one  may  undertake  to  pronounce,  who 
is  able — namely,  Kooskuhwhannansuskesukonom.  In 
the  Mohawk  the  name  of  Joseph  Brant,  meaning,  '  two 
sticks  of  wood  bound  together,'  was  in  one  word,  Thay- 
endanegea.  In  the  following  instance  by  Mather,  for 
'  our  question'  the  English  is  short  and  the  Indian  bunch 
is  sufficiently  long, — Kummogkodonattoottummooctite- 
aongannunnonash. 

Were  scions  of  the  old  Mohegan  tree. — Canto  I.  st.  11. 

The  word  Mohegan  is  an  abridgment  of  the  word 
Muhhekaneew,  in  the  singular,  the  plural  of  which  is 
Muhhekaneok.  The  word  signifies  '  the  people  of  the 
great  waters,  continually  in  motion.'  Not  only  the 


176  NOTES. 

Stockbridge  Indians  and  those  in  the  neighborhood  in 
the  State  of  New  York,  extending  to  the  Hudson  River 
at  Albany,  but  the  Indians  also  at  Montville,  between 
Norwich  and  New  London,  in  Connecticut,  were  called 
Mohegans.  By  some  they  are  regarded  as  one  of  five 
associated  tribes, — the  Delawares,  called  by  the  French 
the  Loups,  being  another, — speaking  the  same  language. 
It  has  been  said,  that  the  "  Mahiccons  occupied  Staten 
Island,  York  Island,  Long  Island,  and  that  part  of  New 
York  and  Connecticut,  which  lies  between  Hudson  and 
Connecticut  rivers,  from  the  Highlands  down  to  the 
Sound." 

Mr.  Heckewelder  says,  the  true  name  of  the  Mohegan 
Indians  is  Mahicanni,  and  that  the  Dutch  called  them 
Mahikanders ;  the  French,  Mourigans  and  Mahingans ; 
the  English,  Mohiccons,  Mohuccans,  Muhhekanew,  Scha- 
ticooks,  River  Indians. — This  last  name  may  have  been 
given  because  they  dwelt  on  the  Hudson,  Hoosatunnuk, 
and  Connecticut  rivers  ;  or  only  because  they  lived  on 
the  Mohicannittuck,  river  of  the  Mohicans,  or  the  Hud 
son. 

Soon  after  the  settlement  of  New  York,  the  principal 
Indians  were  denominated  Mohegans,  consisting  of  vari 
ous  tribes,  or  bands,  living  chiefly  on  the  east  side  of  the 
Hudson  River.  When  the  Director-General,  Kieft,  and 
Council,  held  a  treaty  Aug.  30,  1645,  the  Mohegan  chief, 
called  Aepjen,  was  the  leader  of  the  assembled  red  men, 
and  spoke  for  the  Wappinnecks,  Wechquaesqueecks,  the 
Sintsings,  and  the  Kitchtawauks :  and  at  this  time  peace 
was  reestablished.  Other  Mohesan  tribes  were  the 


NOTES.  177 

Shvanoys  near  Norwalk,  the  Manhattans,  the  Pachami, 
the  Wappengins,  and  the  Tankitekes.  But  most  or  all 
these  Indians  were  at  this  time  in  a  degree  of  subjection 
to  the  Mohawks  and  paid  them  tribute. 

Josselyn  gives  the  following  description  of  the  Empire 
city :  "  New  York  is  situated  at  the  mouth  of  the  great 
River  Mohegan,  and  is  built  with  Dutch  brick,  the  meanest 
house  therein  being  valued  at  100  pounds.  To  the  land 
ward  it  is  compassed  with  a  wall  of  good  thickness.  At 
the  entrance  of  the  river  is  an  island  well  fortified,  and 
hath  command  of  any  ship,  that  shall  attempt  fo  pass 
without  their  leave." 

Mr.  Bolton,  in  hrs  history  of  Westchester,  says,  that  at 
the  time  of  the  Dutch  discovery, "  the  Mahicanni  resided 
on  the  east  shore  of  the  Hudson."  These  were  the  Man- 
kicani  and  Mahikans  of  De  Laet,  the  Mahiccanders  and 
Mohickanders  of  the  Dutch,  the  Mahikans  or  Mohegans 
according  to  Professor  Ebeling,  and  the  Muhhekaneew 
or  Mohegans,  known  in  New  England  history.  Mr. 
Bancroft  says, — "  the  country  between  the  banks  of  the 
Connecticut  River  and  the  Hudson  was  possessed  by  in 
dependent  villages  of  the  Mohegans,  kindred  with  the 
Manhattans ;  whose  few  smokes  once  arose  amidst  the 
forests  on  New  York  island."  A  small  lake,  4  miles  from 
the  Hudson  at  Peek's  Ball,  is  still  called  Mohegan. 

According  to  Brodhead,  when  the  Mohegans,  who 
lived  opposite  to  fort  Orange  or  Albany,  were  expelled 
by  the  Mohawks  from  their  ancient  abode,  they  settled 
themselves  on  the  fresh  river,  called  Connettecock  by 
the  natives,  under  the  Sachem  Sequeen ;  and  probably 
12 


178  NOTES. 

at  this  period  they  entered  the  Berkshire  or  Hoosatun- 
nuk  valley,  and  spread  themselves  over  the  State  of  Con 
necticut.  As  there  were  13  bands  of  Indians  on  Long 
Island,  among  them  the  Montauks,  the  Shinecocks,  the 
Rockaways,  so  the  number  of  small  clans  was  much 
greater  on  the  main  land.  The  river  at  New  London 
soon  bore  the  name  of  Mohegan,  and  the  Indians  in  that 
neighborhood  were  called  Moheeks. 

The  Mohegan  language,  concerning  which  Dr.  Ed 
wards  published  his  Observations,  in  1788,  is,  according 
to  him,  "  spoken  by  all  the  Indians  throughout  New  Eng 
land.  Every  tribe,  as  that  of  Stockbridge,  that  of  Farm- 
ington,  that  of  New  London,  &c.,  has  a  different  dialect ; 
but  the  language  is  radically  the  same.  This  language 
appears  to  be  much  more  extensive  than  any  other  lan 
guage  in  North  America.  The  languages  of  the  Dela- 
wares  in  Pennsylvania,  of  the  Penobscots  bordering  on 
Nova  Scotia,  of  the  Indians  of  St.  Francis  in  Canada,  of 
the  Shawanese  on  the  Ohio,  and  of  the  Chippeways  at 
the  westward  of  Lake  Huron  are  all  radically  the  same 
with  the  Mohegan.  The  same  is  said  concerning  the 
languages  of  the  Ottowaus,  Nanticooks,  Munsees,  Me- 
nomonees,  Messisaugas,  Saukies,  Ottagaumies,  Killisti- 
noes,  and  Algonkins." 

The  following  specimens  of  words  from  different  tribes 
will  show  the  affinity  of  many  of  the  Indian  languages' 
Being  collected  from  various  writers,  of  different  lan 
guages,  who  had  no  common  method  of  denoting  partic 
ular  sounds,  there  was  doubtless  a  greater  similarity  in 
the  pronunciation  than  appears  on  paper. 


NOTES. 


179 


Mohegan,      Weehcom, 

uwuhm. 

Norridgewock,   Wigwam. 
St.  Francis,    Wigwam. 
Penobscot,  Wigwam,  Wiket. 
Miami,  Weekaumay. 


House. 

Week-  Scoodiac,  Wannojilcowam. 
Shawanese,  Wigwa. 
Algonkin,  Wikiwam, 
Delaware,  Wikwam. 
Munsee,  Wichquam. 
Chippeway,  Wigwaum. 


This  last  gives  the  sound  of  the  a  in  warn  of  the  other 
words. 


River. 


Mohegan,    Seepoo,    Tseepoo, 

Theepow. 

Massachusetts,  or  Natick,  Sepu. 
Narraganset,  Seip. 
Norridgewock,  Seepoo. 
St.  Francis,  Seepoo. 
Penobscot,  Seeboo. 
Schoodiac,  or 
Passamaquoddy,  Seipb. 


Micmac,  Sepoon. 
Skoffie,  Shee-eep. 
Delaware,  Seepoo,  Sipu. 
Chippeway,  Seepee,  Sippim. 
Algonkin,  Sipi,  Sipim. 
Miami,  Seepeeway,  Sipioue. 
Pottawatameh,  Seebee. 
Knisteneaux,  Sepee. 
Shawanese,  Tliepee,  Sepe. 


Mountain. 


Mohegan,  W'chu,  Whauchoo. 
Massachusetts,  Wadchu,     Wad- 

chuash,  plural. 

Penobscot,  Waad-jo}  Wau-cho. 
Schoodiac,    Waadtc, 


Miami,  Atcheewee. 

Delaware,    Wauchchoo,   Wauch- 

chootcall,  pi. 
Chippeway,  Wudju,  Wudjuuntn, 

pi. 


Fish. 


Mohegan,  Namase,  Namass. 
Naticks,    Namohs,    Namohsoh, 

Namohsog,pl. 
Narraganset,  Namauss. 


Penobscot,  Norn-is. 
Schoodiac,  Nom-is. 
Delaware,  Namees. 
Chippeway,  KicTcon. 


Fire. 


Mohegan, '  Thiouw,  Stauw. 

Natick,  Nootau. 

Narraganset,  Squuila,Note,  Yote, 

Mickot. 

Norridgewock,  Skootai. 
St.  Francis,  Scoottah. 
Penobscot,  Scoutay,  Skmt-ta. 
Schoodiac,  Skurit,  Skoot. 


Mountaineer,  Schootoo. 
Skoffie,  Sclikootow. 
Algonkin,  Scoutay. 
Messisaugas,  Scooteh. 
Chippeway,  Scutta,  Ish-koo-da. 
Knisteneaux,  Scoutay. 
Shawanese,  Scoote. 
Miami,  Kohteway. 


180 


NOTES. 


Shoe. 


Mohegan,  Mkissin. 
Natick,  Mohkissonash,  pi. 
Narraganset,  Mocussinash,  pi.  or 

Mockussinchash. 
Norridgewock,  Mukkaysen. 
Penobscot,  Mukkaysen. 
St.  Fancis,  Mokasin,  Mokkausin. 


Mountaineer,  Maslitashun. 
Skoffie,  Masteshun. 
Algonkin,  Mauckisin. 
Chippeway,  Maukissin. 
Knisteneaux,  Moscasin. 
Nanticoke,  Mechklssins. 
Delaware,  Maux&n. 


The  Sun. 


Mohegan,  Keesoj/h. 
Narraganset,  Reesuckquand,  the 

Sun-god. 

Norridgewock,  Keezoos. 
St.  Francis,  Keesoos. 
Penobscot,  Geesoos,  Keesoos. 
Micmac,  Nakoushet. 


Mohegan,  Hpoon. 
Natick,  Popoon. 
Narraganset,  Papone. 
Norridgowock,  Payboon. 
St.  Francis,  Pehboon. 
Peuobscot,  Papoon. 
Mountaineer,  Poopoohen. 


Mountaineer,  Beshung. 
Skoffie,  Beeslioon. 
Algonkin,  Kijis. 
Chippeway,  Kissis,  Geessessey. 
Delaware,  Gees-chuch. 
Minsi,  Gis-chuch. 


Winter. 


Skoffie,  Poopoon. 
Algonkin,  Pepoon. 
Chippeway,    Pepoon^    Bebone, 

Peeboan. 

Knisteneaux,  Pepoon. 
Nanticoke,  Poopponu,  Hoppoon. 
Miami,  Peponway. 


Devil. 


Mohegan,  Mtandou,  Mannito. 
Natick,  Mattannit. 
Norridgewock,  Malseneweskoo. 
St.  Francis,  Mattchantoo. 
Penobscot,  Machihando. 
Schoodiac,  Ma-cM-handt. 
Algonkin,  Matchi,  MatcU-mani- 
too. 


Chippeway,  Manitoo,  Matchee- 

manitoo. 
Delaware,  Machtanda,    Matslii- 

mannitto. 

Shawanese,  Matchemenetoo. 
Nanticoke,  Matlannlole. 
Miami,  Matchee-manetoo. 


Mohegan,  Mqudh. 
Natick,  Mosq. 
Narraganset,  Mask. 
Algonkin,  Macqua. 
Chippeway,  Mackwdh. 


A  Bear. 


Knisteneaux,  Masqua. 
Shawanese,  Mauquah. 
Delaware,  Machk. 
Menomonies,  Ouwashah. 
Miami,  Moskway. 


Mohegan,  Nbey,  M'ppeh. 
Natick,  Nippe. 
Narrnganset,  Nip. 
Norridgewock,  Nabee. 
Penobscot,  Kneppi,  Nippee. 
bt.  Francis,  Nehbee,  Nupee. 


NOTES.  181 

Water. 

Algonkin,  Neepee,  N!pi,  Nipei. 
Chippeway,  Nebbi,  Nippee. 
Knisteneaux,  Nepee. 
Messisaugus,  Nippee. 
Miami,  Napay. 


Notwithstanding  this  radical  affinity  of  many  of  the 
Indian  languages,  this  identity  of  many  words,  yet  there 
is  also  a  great  dissimilarity  between  them. 

Mr.  George  Catlin,  in  his  remarkable  volumes  concern 
ing  the  American  Indians,  expresses  his  belief  that  of 
the  48  tribes,  which  he  visited,  30  had  languages  dis 
tinct  and  radically  different. 

While  Dr.  Edwards  regarded  the  Mohegan  as  the 
standard  Indian  language,  Mr.  Heckewelder,  a  Mission 
ary  to  the  Delawares,  regarded  the  Lenni  Lennape  or 
Delaware  as  the  standard  language ;  "  each  considered 
the  particular  dialect,  with  which  he  happened  to  be 
most  familiar,  as  the  principal  or  standard  language,  and 
the  rest  as  branches  or  dialects  of  it." 

Perhaps  the  reader  will  be  satisfied,  that  Dr.  Edwards 
is  right,  and  that  the  claims  of  the  Mohegan  are  superior 
to  those  of  the  Delaware,  from  the  following  considera 
tions. 

Mr.  John  Pickering  has  published  a  vocabulary  of  45 
words  in  14  languages  supposed  to  be  of  a  common  stock, 
in  which  '  to  die,'  and  '  dead '  are  in  Mohegan  Nip  and 
Nepoo,  and  in  Delaware  they  are  Angel,  and  Angelluk. 

On  examining  the  other  dialects,  the  Munsee  has  An- 
gellowoagan  for  '  to  die,'  and  the  Nanticoke  has  Angel. 


182  NOTES. 

No  other  language  has  any  similar  word.  But  corre 
sponding  to  the  Mohegan  for  '  dead,'  Nepoo,  the  Sbaw- 
anese  has  Nepwa ;  the  Narraganset  has  Nippitch  cwo ; 
the  Massachusetts  has  Nuppoo ;  and  the  Chippeway  has 
Neepoo. 

And  corresponding  to  the  Mohegan  Nip  or  Neep, '  to 
die,'  the  Narraganset  has  Nippitch  ewo ;  the  Massachu 
setts  has  Ut-nuppun  ;  the  Algonkin  has  Nip  or  Nipowen  ; 
the  Chippeway  has  Nip  ;  and  the  Knisteneaux  has  Ne- 
pew. 

'  A  Bear'  in  Mohegan  is  Mquoh  and  in  Delaware 
Machk.  The  Narraganset  has  Mosk  and  the  Massachu 
setts  also ;  but  the  Shawanese,  Algonkin,  Chippeway, 
and  Knisteneaux  have  Mack-wah  or  Musk-quaw  in  two 
syllables,  like  the  Mohegan. 

'  A  beaver '  is  Amisque.in  Mohegan,  also  in  Knisten 
eaux  ;  Amik  in  Algonkin  and  Chippeway.  The  Dela 
ware  has  Tamaque,  the  Shawanese  has  Amaquah,  the 
Munsee  has  Amochk  ;  the  Nanticoke  has  Nataque  ;  the 
Narraganset  has  Tummock ;  the  Massachusetts  Tum- 
m'unk ;  the  Penobscot  Toumakoi ;  the  Norridgewock 
Temakwa ;  and  the  St.  Francis  Temarqua.  Here  the 
Delaware  has  the  strongest  party. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Mohegan  Hpoon  for  '  winter '  is 
supported  by  a  similar  word  in  the  Nanticoke,  Narragan 
set,  Massachusetts,  Penobscot,  Norridgewock,  St.  Francis, 
Algonkin,  Chippeway,  and  Knisteneaux,  —  while  the 
Delaware  Lowan  for  winter  has  the  support  only  of 
Munsee. 

Metooque  for  wood  in  Mohegan  has  in  the  other  Ian- 


NOTES.  183 

guages  Mehtug,  Wudtuckqun,  Mittick,  Meteek,  Mistick, — 
•while  the  Delaware  Tachan  has  only  the  support  of  Ne- 
taukun  in  the  Messisaugas. 

The  Mohegan  Pumisseh  for  '  go '  has  a  similar  word  in 
five  languages,  while  the  Delaware  Aal  for  '  go '  stands 
alone. 

Mannito  in  Mohegan  means  '  spirit; '  so  in  Algonkin, 
and  Chippeway ;  and  Mattanit  in  Massachusetts  ;  but  the 
Delaware  has  Tschipey,  tschitschank,  with  the  solitary 
support  of  Tsee-e-p  in  Nantieoke. 

On  the  whole,  from  this  comparison  it  is  evident,  that 
the  Mohegan  has  a  greater  affinity  to  more  dialects  and 
to  more  important  ones,  than  the  Delaware,  and  it  seems 
but  an  act  of  justice  to  regard  the  Mohegan  as  the  lead 
ing  and  standard  language  in  the  northern  part  of  Amer 
ica. 

It  should  be  remembered,  that  at  the  north  there  is 
one  language  entirely  distinct  from  the  Mohegan  dialects, 
and  that  is  the  Iroquois,  fonnerly  of  the  interior  of  New 
York,  including  the  five  nations — the  Mohawks,  the 
Oneidas,  the  Onondagas,  the  Senecas,  and  Cayugas. 
When  the  Tuscaroras  of  North  Carolina  joined  them, 
they  were  called  the  six  nations.  The  Dutch  called 
these  Indians  the  Maquaas. 

It  has  been  claimed  by  some  of  our  distinguished 
writers,  that  the  Algonkin  should  be  regarded  as  the 
leading  language  of  the  central  parts  of  our  country 
from  the  eastern  sea-board  to  the  Mississippi.  But  I  per 
ceive  no  good  reasons  for  the  allowance  of  this  claim. 
The  Mohegan  language  of  New  York,  Connecticut,  and 


184  NOTES. 

the  Hoosatunnuk  valley  has  been  known  from  the  early 
settlements,  also  the  Narraganset  of  Rhode  Island,  and 
the  Natick  of  Massachusetts,  in  which  was  early  printed 
Eliot's  complete  translation  of  the  Bible.  Either  of  these 
languages,  as  well  as  the  Delaware,  it  would  seem,  has 
claims  superior  to  the  Algonkin. 

This  term  was  used  by  La  Hontan,  a  French  officer, 
who  went  to  Quebec  in  1683,  and  for  four  years  was 
stationed  at  different  forts  from  Chambly  up  to  the  falls 
of  St.  Mary.  He  was  at  Green  Bay  in  1689,  and  thence 
he  proceeded  to  the  Mississippi.  His  travels  were  pub 
lished  in  1705  ;  some  of  his  accounts  are  the  inventions 
of  a  traveller.  His  brief  vocabulary  of  the  Algonkin 
has  no  great  authority,  for  Charlevoix  says,  that  Sagard, 
Cartier,  and  La  Hontan  "  took  at  random  a  few  words 
from  the  Huron  and  others  from  the  Algonkin  tongues, 
which  they  very  ill  remembered,  and  which  often  signi 
fied  something  very  different  from  what  they  imagined." 
According  to  La  Hontan  himself,  the  insignificance  of 
the  Algonkin  nation  was  such,  when  he  travelled  among 
them,  that  the  whole  number  did  not  amount  to  two  hun 
dred  souls.  It  is  obvious,  then,  that  the  word  Algonkin 
has  no  claim  to  be  the  generic  name  to  indicate  the  pre 
vailing  dialect  of  many  thousands  of  the  Indians  of  the 
east  and  the  north.  It  does  not  appear  from  what  par 
ticular  band  of  Indians  the  name  was  taken,  although  the 
Encyclopedia  Americana  speaks  of  them  as  living  on  the 
Assiniboin  or  Rainy  Lake,  and  Prairie  de  Portage, 
amounting  to  600.  "  They  are  in  the  general  practice  of 
polygamy,  and  much  given  to  the  use  of  intoxicating 
liquors ; — they  are  declining,  and  in  a  miserable  state." 


NOTES.  185 

Modern  writers  say,  that  the  Algonkins,  the  Chippe- 
ways,  and  Ojibwas  are  precisely  the  same ;  then  why 
not  remove  the  confusion,  which  has  been  introduced  by 
the  use  of  the  three  terms,  by  rejecting  the  words  Al- 
gonkin  and  Ojibwa  and  using  only  the  common,  well- 
known  name  of  Chippeway?  Yet  of  late  there  has 
been  invented  the  new  term  Algic,  as  though  it  was  the 
root  of  Algonkin,  and  this  is  employed  to  comprise  the 
host  of  languages  spread  over  most  of  the  United  States ; 
but  it  is  a  word  of  no  more  advantage  or  authority  in 
this  respect,  than  would  be  Chippie  or  Ojibbic,  fashioned 
from  the  other  names  of  this  tribe.  Accepting,  then,  the 
well-known  name  of  Chippeway,  and  carefully  distin 
guishing  it  from  the  more  northern  Chepewyan,  the  ques 
tion  comes,  why  should  not  the  old  Mohegan  of  New 
York,  Hudson  River,  and  the  sea-board  be  the  general 
term,  if  any  is  wanted,  to  denote  the  cognate  languages, 
rather  than  the  Chippeway  of  the  lakes  and  of  the  north 
west  interior  ? 

In  his  arrangement  of  the  Indian  tribes,  La  Hontan 
gives  first  the  names  of  the  several  tribes  in  Acadia ; — 
next,  those  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  from  the  sea  to  Mon 
treal, — the  Papinachois,  Montagnois,  Gaspesiens,  Abena- 
kis  of  Sciller,  and  Algonkins, — then,  those  on  Lake 
Huron,  Outaouas,  Nockes,  Missiaugues,  Attekamek,  Out- 
chipoues,  called  the  Sauteurs  ; — further,  on  the  borders 
of  Lake  Illinois,  the  Illinois  of  Chegakou,  Oumamis, 
Maskoutens,  Kickapous,  Outagamis,  Malomimis,  Pout- 
eouatamis,  Ojatimons,  Sakis.  He  also  mentions  other 
tribes.  For  what  reason,  it  may  be  asked,  can  the  word 


186  NOTES. 

Algonkin  have  been  selected  to  stand  as  the  representa 
tive  language  of  all  these  tribes  or  Indian  nations  ? 

As  a  subdivision  of  the  Northern  Indians  there  is  one 
name,  that  of  the  Abenakis,  which  has  been  often  em 
ployed  and  which  requires  consideration.  It  is  main 
tained  by  Mr.  Heckewelder,  that  the  Delawares  along 
the  Atlantic  between  the  Hudson  and  the  Potomac  were 
called  by  the  western  and  northern  Indians  Wapanachki, 
corrupted  into  Abenaki,  Abenaquis,  meaning  East- 
landers,  "  people  at  the  rising  of  the  sun."  But  this 
may  be  an  error ;  for  Father  Ralle  had  before  given  the 
name  to  some  tribes  in  Maine,  especially  to  the  Nor- 
ridgewogs,  among  whom  he  lived,  and  whose  vocabulary 
is  published  as  the  Abnaki.  Other  tribes  were  the 
Ameriscoggans  and  the  Penobscots.  These,  and  some 
other  tribes  in  Maine  might  more  properly  than  the 
Delawares  be  called  '  Eastlanders,'  if  such  be  the  mean 
ing  of  Abenaki.  The  Openangos  of  La  Hontan  mean 
the  Abenaukis. 

In  1812  Mr.  Schermerhorn  made  a  report  concerning 
the  Indians  east  of  the  Mississippi  and  north  of  the 
Ohio  to  the  Lakes,  in  which  he  estimated  them  at  about 
19,000,  of  which  the  Chippeways  made  only  1,000. 
The  other  equal  tribes  were  the  Wyandots,  Ottaways, 
Delawares,  Miamies,  Kickapoos  ;  the  still  larger  tribes 
were  the  Putawatamies,  Sauks,  Foxes,  Winnebagoes,  and 
Menomenes.  Of  the  Indians  in  New  England  and  New 
York  he  made  no  estimate.  Perhaps  the  Chippeways 
have  been  so  situated,  as  to  be  brought  more  in  contact 
with  the  travellers  along  the  lakes  and  the  agents  of  our 
government ;  hence  the  prominence  given  to  this  tribe. 


NOTES.  187 

In  examining  the  totems,  or  pictorial  signatures  of  the 
Abenakis  and  their  allies,  in  all  nineteen  or  twenty,  among 
which  is  that  of  the  Algonkins,  there  is  nothing  in  the  last 
to  distinguish  it  from  the  others  or  to  indicate  any  supe 
riority.  Indeed,  the  image  of  a  frog  will  not  be  regarded 
as  of  so  high  a  cLgnity  as  that  of  the  eagle,  the  fox,  the 
elk,  and  of  other  animals.  Mr.  McKenney  found  at  the 
head  of  an  Indian  grave  a  pine  bOard  with  the  form  of 
an  elk  cut  in  it,  "  doubtless  the  totem  of  the  band,  to 
which  the  deceased  had  belonged."  That  band,  as  ap 
pears  from  the  totems  now  before  me,  was  the  Pentu- 
gooay.  From  the  Algonkin  totem  I  should  conclude, 
that  it  indicated  a  small  clan,  as  was  irdicated  by  the 
other  totems. 

It  is  a  very  remarkable  fact  in  regard  to  the  Indian 
languages  of  North  and  South  America,  supposed  by 
Adelung  to  be  1200  in  number,  that  although  they  may 
be  divided  into  classes,  which  bear  no  resemblance  to 
each  other  in  words,  yet  they  are  all  alike  in  a  peculiar 
grammatical  structure,  by  which  they  are  distinguished 
from  all  the  languages  of  Europe,  and  by  which  they 
have  an  affinity  with  the  Hebrew  and  other  languages 
of  the  East.  The  following  illustrative  examples  may 
be  given. 

The  Mohegan,  representing  the  dialects  from  the  At 
lantic  in  New  England  to  the  Mississippi ;  the  Chero 
kee,  representing  the  languages  of  Florida  ;  the  Pocon- 
chi,  representing  those  of  Central  America,  near 
Guatemala  ;  the  Orinoco  languages ;  and  the  Arauca- 
nian,  representing  the  dialects  of  Chili,  are  dissimilar  in 


188  NOTES. 

words,  but  they  are  all  alike  in  the  use  of  personal  pre 
fixes  and  suffixes  to  nouns  and  verbs. 

In  Mohegan,  the  pronouns  I,  thou,  and  he,  are  Neah, 
Keah,  TJwoh,  the  first  letters  of  which,  N,  K,  and  U,  are 
prefixed  to  nouns ;  as  tmohhecan,  a  hatchet ;  ndumhecan 
is  my  hatchet ;  ktumhecan,  thy  hatchet ;  utumhecan,  his 
hatchet 

So  in  Cherokee,  galuiha,  I  am  tying  it ;  haluiha,  thou 
art  tying  it ;  kahluiha,  he  is  tying  it. 

In  Poconchi,  the  prefixes  are  V,  A,  and  R :  thus,  ixim, 
corn ;  vixim,  my  corn ;  avixim,  thy  corn ;  rixim,  his 
corn.  Or,  if  the  noun  begins  with  a  consonant,  the  pre 
fixes  are  Nu,  A,  and  Ru :  as  pat,  a  house ;  nupat,  my 
house ;  apat,  thy  house  ;  rupat,  his  house.  In  like  man 
ner  tat,  father  ;  holom,  head ;  cam,  hand ;  car,  fish ;  tsi, 
dog. 

In  Orinoco,  apoto  means  a  rule ;  japatoi,  my  rule ; 
avapotoi,  thy  rule  ;  itapotoi,  his  rule. 

In  the  Araucanian  or  Chili  tongue  the  pronouns  are 
inche,  I ;  eimi,  you ;  teye,  which.  The  word  elun  means 
to  give  ;  it  also  means  I  give,  rendering  the  use  of  inche 
unnecessary.  Then  we  have,  elun,  I  give  ;  eluimi,  thou 
givest ;  elui,  he  gives.  In  the  case  of  the  last  two  words 
the  pronouns  are  affixed,  instead  of  being  prefixed. 

In  Hebrew  the  pronouns  are  ani,  ka,  as  suffix,  and  hu, 
or  hua.  Ni  is  the  suffix  for  me  ;  k  or  ka  for  the  second 
person ;  and  vau,  the  letter  u  and  hu  are  the  suffixes  for 
he  and  him.  Nu  expresses  us ;  so  in  Mohegan  Nuh  is 
used,  as  noghnuh,  our  father. 

Mr.  Nuttall  has  pointed  out  the  resemblance  in  Ian- 


NOTES.  189 

guage,  habits,  and  morals  between  the  aborigines  of  North 
America  and  the  Tartar  tribes  of  the  Russian  Empire. 
From  the  peculiarity  of  structure  in  the  American  lan 
guages,  distinguishing  them  from  those  of  Europe,  it 
may  perhaps  be  justly  concluded,  that  all  the  American 
Indians  had  a  common  Asiatic  origin,  in  accordance  with 
the  teaching  of  the  divine  word  as  to  the  origin  of  the 
whole  human  family. 

In  the  Mohegan  there  is  no  diversity  of  gender.  The 
same  words  express  he  and  she,  him  and  her.  Hence 
these  Indians  in  speaking  English  are  apt  to .  say,  if  one 
was  speaking  of  his  wife — '  he  sick,  he  gone  away.' 
Thus  nsconmoo  means  not  only,  '  he  is  malicious,'  but 
also  '  she  is  malicious.'  .  .  The  prefixes  and  suffixes 
are  always  used,  although  other  nominatives  and  accusa 
tives  are  expressed,  for  which  reason  the  Indian  speaking 
English  retains  his  own  idiom,  however  strange  to  our 
ears.  Instead  of  saying  '  John  loves  Peter,'  the  Indian 
says,  'John  he  loves  him  Peter,'  John  nduhwhunuw 
Peteran. 

The  Mohegan  language  may  be  regarded  as  extending 
from  New  York  island  over  Connecticut  to  Narraganset, 
including  Long  Island,  and  from  the  Hudson,  the  old 
Mohogan  River,  as  high  up  as  Albany,  to  the  Hoosatun- 
nuk  valley.  Various  specimens  of  the  language  are  the 
following. 

Words  from  the  Montauk  chief  on  Long  Island  by 
John  Lyon  Gardiner.  Massakeat  mund,  great  good 
spirit ;  saunchen,  king ;  seaunskq,  queen  ;  wonnux,  white 
man ;  wonnuxk,  a  white  woman ;  wewauchum,  Indian 


190  NOTES. 

corn ;  mausqueseets,  beans ;  ausgook,  pumpkins ;  quau- 
baug,  a  round  clam ;  suxawaug,  a  long  clam ;  niep, 
water ;  keagh  or  cage,  land ;  yunksquauh,  a  young  wo 
man  ;  massakeat  mund  sumana  Inshun  wewachum, 
Great  Spirit  give  Indian  corn.  Inchun,  an  Indian ;  to- 
baugsk,  tobacco ;  cheaganan  a  hatchet ;  mashuee,  a  ca 
noe  ;  squashees,  a  little  girl ;  weenai,  an  old  woman ; 
weadamus,  roast  corn ;  cutdaus,  boiled  corn ;  seaump, 
pounded  corn  ;  cheesk,  small ;  chiauk,  large ;  weegan, 
good ;  muttadeaio,  bad ;  the  numerals,  nuckit,  neeze, 
nisk,  yuaw,  nepaw ;  conma,  nusus,  swans,  passecucond, 
jujunck. 

An  Indian  woman,  named  Sarah  Mawweek,  born  in 
East  Haven,  lived  in  1787  at  Derby  Bridge,  which  she 
called  Naukatungk,  and  gave  to  President  Stiles  the  fol 
lowing  words — yet  ignorant  of  the  name  of  her  tribe. 
Kuuh  tah,  fire ;  toof  ku,  night ;  kee  sup,  day ;  tookh,  tree ; 
k't  schwak,  a  great  tree ;  iskkaheeg,  cider  ;  m'nukqh 
wuk,  the  seven  stars ;  awaussuse,  the  ursa  major,  a  bear ; 
oopht,  a  deer;  n'pee,  water;  shunneegh,  a  squirrel; 
Mioonkh  took,  East  Haven  ;  quinnepyooghq,  the  river ; 
Mautunsq,  West  rock  ;  ruink,  or  rink,  man ;  weenigh, 
woman ;  kochee,  old  man ;  weeneece,  old  woman  ;  see- 
pooh,  river ;  kuthun,  sea ;  m'nuksquo,  rock ;  wat-chooh, 
mountain  ;  woosquat,  walnut  tree ;  unkhkupee,  rum ; 
pawtumpung,  break  of  day. 

The  following  list  of  Mohegan  words,  obtained  from 
the  Indians  near  Norwich,  was  given  me  in  1831,  by 
Sarah  Lanman  Huntington,  then  their  Sunday  religious 
teacher,  afterwards  the  wife  of  Rev.  Dr.  Eli  Smith  of 


NOTES. 


191 


Syria,  now  reaping  her  reward.  It  is  dated  at  Moheeg, 
which  was  the  Indian  name  of  their  village  at  Montville, 
on  the  River  Thames,  formerly  the  Mohegan  River.  A 
bear,  wossoos  ;  eye,  nee  ;  ear,  tauog;  girl,  squassise  ;  he, 
noheen  ;  his  heart,  wuttah ;  his  head,  noquunnuk ;  thou, 
keen  ;  his  teeth,  weebuck ;  thank  you,  taubot ;  hair,  wish- 
agan ;  I,  neen ;  water,  nip  ;  how,  tuneh ;  elder  sister, 
neeticks ;  river,  osseed ;  dead,  nuppoo ;  devil,  jubi ;  fire, 
yote ;  marry,  ocksoo  ;  shoe,  moccussin  ;  her  husband, 
wasak ;  where,  phibug ;  winter,  uppoon ;  numerals, 
nghud,  nees,  chusoke,  yough,  nuppa ;  n'quittasuch,  nei- 
suck,  ghuhoosk,  bossoohoogan,  biog. 

If  any  one  is  curious  to  make  now  a  comparison  with 
brief  specimens  of  the  Plymouth  and  Virginia  languages, 
they  are  here  given.  The  following  are  all  the  Indian 
words  of  Massasoit  and  the  Indians,  connected  with  Plym 
outh,  which  have  been  preserved. 


Kiehtan  or  Ketan,  God. 
Sagimus,  Sachem,  king,  prince, 

chief. 

Tpwaum,  friend. 
Pinese,  a  counsellor^ 
Maske,  probably  mosk,  bear. 
Sachimo  comaco,  a    Prince's 

house. 


Coramoco,  feast  and  dance. 
Witeo,  an  ordinary  house. 
Squaw-Sachim,    the    Sachem's 

wife. 
Neen  womasu  sagimus,  my  lov 

ing  Sachem. 
Keen    Winsnow?     Art    thou 

Winslow  ? 
Ahlie,  yes. 
Matta  neen  wonckanet  namen, 


Winsnow!  0  Winslow,  I  shall 

never  see  thee  again. 
Hobbamock,  the  devil. 
Quatchet,  walk  abroad. 
Ho  wok,  lam  taken. 
Askooke,  the  snake. 
Wobsacuck,  the  eagle. 
Powah,  ajuggler. 
Pniese,  (Pinese?)  chief. 
Mazzium,  Indian  Corn. 
Neen  Squaes,  lam  a  girl. 
Chise,  old  man. 
Kiehchise,  a  man  of  exceeding 

age. 
Hin'naim  namen,  by  and  by  it 

should  see. 

michen,  it  should  eat. 
Matta  cuts,  but  not  speak. 


This   dialect,   it  would  appear  from  these  words,  is 


192  NOTES. 

strongly  allied  to  the  Narraganset,  as  given  by  Roger 
Williams,  or  is  the  same. 

The  following  are  a  few  words  from  the  Virginia  Pow- 
hattan  and  Pampticoe  languages. 

1.  Powhattan. 


Broken  maize,  homony. 
House,  yehawkan,  wigwaum. 
Shoes,  mockasin. 
Axe,  tomahawk. 
Knives,  pamesauk. 
Pickaxes,  tockahock. 
Water,  suckahanna. 
Friends,  netoppew. 


Sun,  keskough. 

Night,  toppgough. 

Star,  pummahuwp. 

God,  okee. 

1,  2, 3,  4,  5,  necut,  niuyh,  nuss, 

yough,  parauske. 
Chief,  werowance. 
Grey  goose,  cohonk. 


2.  Pampticoe. 


Axe,  tomdhick. 
Tobacco,  hookpau. 
"Water,  umpe. 


House,  wigwaum. 
Gods ,  mantoac. 
Shoes,  moggison. 


Hariot  says,  the  Virginians  have  for  their  idols  tem 
ples,  which  they  call  Machicomuck :  this  is  the  Mohegan 
for  Great  House  for  a  Sachem.  Machauk  means  in  Mo 
hegan  great,  and  Sachimo-comaco,as  used  at  Plymouth, 
means  Sachem's  house. 

Canto  I.  Stanza  16. 

The  trade  for  furs  with  the  Indians  was  an  important 
source  of  profit  to  the  first  settlers  of  New  England  ;  and 
this  profitable  trade  has  been  wonderfully  extended  to 
the  west  and  the  north,  and  continues  to  the  present  day- 
But  instead  of  only  the  skins  of  musquash  and  beaver 
and  a  few  other  furred  animals,  a  great  variety  of  valuable 
and  costly  furs  are  now  carried  from  America  to  satisfy 
the  claims  of  fashion  in  other  parts  of  the  world, — such  as 
the  ermine,  the  black  and  silver  fox,  the  sable,  the  raccoon, 


NOTES.  193 

the  fisher,  the  lynx,  the  mink,  the  otter,  the  squirrel,  the 
martin,  the  bear.  As  for  the  supply  of  buffalo  robes 
several  hundred  thousand  buffaloes  are  killed  every  year ; 
the  race  may  ere  long  become  extinct. 

Whether  "a  needment"  or  not,  a  pipe  is  almost  in 
separable  from  an  Indian.  The  war-pipe  is  smoked; 
and  in  holding  a  treaty  the  parties  concerned  must  be 
gin  with  smoking  the  pipe  of  peace.  Very  beautiful  and 
splendid  calumets  the  Indians  made  of  a  stone,  procured 
only  in  one  place  in  this  country, — from  the  red  pipe- 
stone  quarry  of  the  far  West,  visited  and  described  by 
Mr.  George  Catlin,  by  whom  I  was  favored  with  a  speci 
men.  It  lies  in  the  latitude  of  Montreal,  2  or  300  miles 
west  of  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony. 

Among  the  Indian  "  needments  "  the  kettle  was  very 
important.  The  Ahkuk  or  Ohkuke  in  the  Natick  lan 
guage,  the  kettle,  was  made  of  pottery  or  of  stone.  The 
only  one  of  stone,  which  I  have  ever  seen  in  Massachu 
setts,  was  recently  ploughed  up  in  Northampton,  the  In-, 
dian  Nonotuck,  after  reposing  in  the  ground  nearly  200 
years.  In  the  Narraganset  the  word  is  aucuck ;  in  the 
Chippeway,  akeek ;  in  the  Delaware,  akeek  or  aukeek; 
in  the  Penobscot,  kook ;  among  the  Esquimaux,  ahkusik. 
My  Nonotuck  kettle  is  made  of  soap-stone  and  is  inter 
nally  about  six  inches  deep  and  seven  in  diameter.  From 
ear  to  ear  is  ten  inches.  In  the  centre  of  one  side  is  an 
oval  hole  with  a  neat  plug  or  stopper  of  the  same  stone. 
The  kettle  was  often  made  of  clay  earth  mixed  with 
feldspar,  quartz,  and  shells.  An  akeek  of  pottery  was 
found  by  Schoolcraft  in  a  cave  of  the  River  St.  Mary 
13 


194  NOTES. 

Michigan  ;  it  is  in  the  cabinet  of  the  New  York  Histori 
cal  Society.  To  this  Society  I  have  presented  the  Non- 
otuck  Ahkook  as  a  memento  of  the  Connecticut  River  In 
dians,  the  last  of  -whom,  at  Nonotuck,  recently  died. 
She  was  a  native  of  Mohegan,  near  Norwich,  and  a 
niece  of  Samson  Occum,  the  celebrated  Indian  preacher. 
The  following  is  the  inscription  on  her  marble  grave 
stone.  "  Sally  Maminash,  the  last  of  the  Indians  in  this 
town,  died  Jan.  3,  1853,  aged  about  88  years.  She  was 
a  Christian  woman  of  eminent  faith  and  piety ;  and  in 
her  age  and  want  she  found  noble  Christian  friends, 
whose  reward  is  with  God."  Mrs.  Sophia  Clap  deserves 
honorable  remembrance  for  giving  a  home  to  Sally  for 
many  years ;  she  died  Nov.  2,  1846,  and  her  husband 
Warham  Clap,  died  Oct.  7,  1852,  aged  82. 

The  love  of  Onkuppee,  fyc. — Canto  I.  st.  16. 
The  supply  of  the  Indian  appetite  with  rum  or 
whiskey  has  been  a  great  cause  of  the  continued  degrada 
tion  and  misery  of  our  copper-colored  brethren.  Speak 
ing  of  the  Chippeways,  whom  he  saw  on  the  shores  of 
Lake  Superior,  Mr.  McKenney  says,  "nothing  can  ex 
ceed  the  poverty  and  wretchedness  of  these  people,  and 
their  love  of  tobacco  and  whiskey.  One  of  the  old 
men,  who  came  ashore  out  of  one  of  these  canoes,  said 
he  had  eaten  nothing  for  two  days,  and  yet  his  first  re 
quest  was  for  tobacco.  In  general  it  is  for  whiskey.  To 
bacco  is  the  Lethean  antidote  for  all  their  exposures  and 
wants.  An  Indian  loves  to  soothe  his  brain  with  it,  and, 
as  if  seeking  to  do  this,  never  smokes  without  blowing 


NOTES.  195 

the  fumes  in  streams  from  his  nostrils  as  well  as  his 
mouth."  The  pipe  is  two  feet  and  a  half  long,  and  the 
bowl  rests  on  the  ground. 

I  am  not  sure  but  among  the  whites  there  is  a  pretty 
close  connection  between  the  smoke  of  tobacco  and  the 
flames  of  the  fire-water ;  for  who  will  be  found  to  be  so 
fond  of  strong  drink  as  great  smokers  ?  And  if  it  be 
true,  as  it  doubtless  is,  that  the  free  sale  of  fire-water 
and  the  ready  supply  of  it  to  the  slaves  of  a  debasing 
appetite  is  one  great  cause  of  crime  and  misery  in  the 
community,  how  can  any  man  of  common  sense  and 
common  benevolence  doubt  the  right  of  the  people  to 
require  of  their  legislators  the  enactment  of  prohibitory 
and  efficacious  laws  ?  We  have  known  laws  to  reward 
the  killing  of  crows  and  to  punish  the  killing  of  robins, 
because  the  former  tear  up  the  corn  and  the  latter  eat 
up  the  insects,  which  are  injurious  to  the  farmer.  Will 
not  a  small  share  of  the  intellectual  power,  which  ap 
proves  of  these  laws,  approve  also  of  laws,  interdicting 
the  sale  of  a  poison,  which  overthrows  man's  reason  and 
creates  an  army  of  criminals  and  paupers  in  the  com 
munity  ? 

Canto  I.    Stanza  18. 

The  name  of  John  Sergeant  should  be  held  in  honor 
in  connection  with  Eliot,  the  Mayhews,  and  other  friends 
and  teachers  of  the  Indians.  He  was  a  native  of  New 
ark,  a  graduate  of  Yale  in  1 729,  and  after  being  a  tutor 
four  years,  he  went  to  Hoosatunnuk  as  a  preacher  to  the 
Indians  in  Oct.  1734.  He  remained  with  them  as  their 


196  NOTES. 

teacher  till  his  death  July  27,  1749,  aged  48,  the  families 
of  the  red  men  under  his  care  having  increased  from  8 
or  10  to  53,  the  number  of  souls  being  218,  which  num 
ber  was  afterwards  increased  to  400. — Jonathan  Ed 
wards  succeeded  him  as  a  minister  both  to  the  whites 
and  the  Indians  until  his  removal  to  become  the  Presi 
dent  of  Princeton  College. 

After  the  emigration  of  these  Indians,  in  1785  and 
1788,  from  Stockbridge  to  New  Stockbridge,  near  Utica, 
New  York,  Mr.  Sergeant's  son,  John  Sergeant,  was  to 
them  a  missionary,  in  all  60  years ;  he  died  Sept.  8, 1824. 
The  missionary  spirit  is  not  extinct  in  Mr.  S.'s  descend 
ants  ;  Mrs.  De  Forest,  of  Stockbridge,  has  lately  returned 
on  account  of  ill  health  from  a  mission  to  Syria  of  13 
years. 

At  Wnahtukook  there  liv'd  a  worthy  chief. — Cant.  I.  st.  22. 
In  1 734  theHoosatunnuk  Indians  lived  in  two  places, — 
in  Stockbridge  and  Sheffield, — 10  miles  apart.  The 
settlement,  in  what  is  now  Stockbridge,  was  called 
Wnahktukook — meaning  Great  Meadow ; — and  that  in 
Sheffield  near  the  line  of  Great  Barrington  was  called 
Skatekook.  At  the  former  place  the  chief  man  was 
Kunkapot,  to  whom  Governor  Belcher  gave  the  com 
mission  of  captain  about  1 734 ;  and  at  the  latter  place 
the  chief  man  was  Lieutenant  Umpachenee,  who  died 
Aug.  10,  1751.  Nov.  2,  1735  Mr.  Sergeant  baptized 
Kunkapot  by  the  name  of  John,  his  wife  Mary,  and  his 
eldest  daughter.  The  next  Sunday  he  baptized  the  rest 
of  his  family ;  and  Nov.  16,  the  lieutenant  by  the  name 


NOTES.  197 

of  Aaron,  his  wife  Hannah,  and  the  rest  of  his  family. 
Of  him  Mr.  Sergeant  says — "  he  is  a  clear-headed,  smart 
man,  of  a  deep  reach,  and  pleasant  humor ;  and  is  one 
of  the  best  speakers  we  hear ;  is  free  in  conversation, 
and  talks  excellently  well."  In  1736  the  lieutenant 
and  the  few  Indian  families,  living  with  him,  removed  to 
Wnahktukook. 

Other  Indians  were  Ebenezer  and  Sarah,  who  chose 
to  be  married  after  the  English  manner :  Wnampee  and 
his  wife,  who  were  baptized,  as  was  Tohtohkukhoonaut, 
the  lieutenant's  brother,  and  Nawnawnekenuk,  a  princi 
pal  man,  usually  called  Nawneek. 

Monument  Mountain,  which  is  chiefly  in  Great  Bar- 
rington,  just  below  Wnahtukook,  is  not  unknown  to 
song. — As  William  C.  Bryant  spent  years  of  his  youth 
and  early  manhood  on  the  banks  of  the  Hoosatunnuk, 
his  poetry  breathes  of  the  scenery  around  him,  and  of 
the  events  of  the  valley,  as  in  the  pieces,  in  his  volume 
of  poems,  1834,  entitled  'Monument  Mountain,'  'I 
broke  the  Spell,'  '  An  Indian  at  the  burial-place  of  his 
Fathers,' '  Green  River,'  and  '  A  Walk  at  Sunset.' 

Could  the  Indians  now,  in  this  year  1856,  revisit  their 
old  abodes  and  places  of  resort  in  Berkshire  county, 
with  what  astonishment  would  they  look  upon  the  mighty 
changes,  which  have  been  produced  by  patient  industry, 
by  enterprise,  by  science  and  genius,  by  inventive  pow 
ers,  and  the  generous  and  profuse  outlays  of  wealth  ?  A 
wilderness  has  been  changed  into  a  paradise.  A  magnifi 
cent  temple  of  science  stands  at  the  northern  gate, — 
fit  companion  of  its  near  associate,  a  towering  moun- 


198  NOTES. 

tain  height, — in  which  presides  a  very  learned  and  much 
honored  son  of  Berkshire.  In  the  central  Pontoosuc  is 
a  large  and  prosperous  Institution  for  the  culture  of  the 
female  mind  and  heart, — with  a  multitude  of  other 
schools  of  learning  scattered  over  the  whole  region. 
Everywhere  are  the  meeting-houses  of  stone,  and  brick, 
and  wood  with  their  spires  pointing  high  upwards  to  the 
skies.  The  marble  of  Berkshire  shines  out  resplen- 
dently  in  the  magnificent  structures  of  our  cities,  and  in 
the  wide-scattered,  humble  memorials  of  the  dead.  Its 
lime  is  boundless,  and  its  iron  is  everywhere  doing  its 
mighty  work  or  smoothing  the  way  of  the  swift  travel 
ler.  Its  immense  production  of  paper  creates  a  re 
pository  of  intellect  for  the  whole  country.  Its  flocks 
are  associated  with  the  finest  of  cloths.  Improvement 
is  everywhere  making  its  rapid  advances.  Could  an 
ancient  Indian  revisit  the  beloved  Hoosatunnuk,  he 
would  see  at  "  Brookside,"  reared  in  the  wilderness  oc 
cupied  by  his  fathers,  one  mile  from  the  village  of  Great 
Barrington,  a  costly  and  splendid  mansion,  the  residence 
of  one  retiring  from  the  accumulation  of  wealth  in  the 
city  to  the  quietude  and  varied  delights  of  a  residence 
in  the  country.  With  what  amazement  would  he  visit 
in  that  mansion  a  gallery  of  costly  and  splendid  paint 
ings  by  foreign  and  American  artists,  one  of  them  a 
large  historical  picture  of  Washington  at  the  battle  of 
Monmouth,  by  Leutze,  who  also  painted  Washington 
crossing  the  Delaware  ?  And  would  not  his  heart  burn 
with  gratitude  to  Mr.  David  Leavitt,  who  in  making  ex 
cavations  for  his  buildings,  as  he  found  the  bones  of 


NOTES.  199 

about  30  Indians  in  sitting  postures  with  their  faces  to 
the  west,  had  them  carefully  removed  and  placed  in  a 
new  burying-ground  with  a  neat  marble  monument  to 
their  memory  ?  With  what  wonder  would  he  look  upon 
that  huge  cascade  barn,  unequalled  perhaps  in  the  world, 
with  "  Roaring  Brook  "  rushing  in  the  midst  of  it,  and 
accomplishing  a  multitude  of  agricultural  labors,  else 
where  done  with  human  hands  ? — But  more  than  all  the 
wonders  of  nature  and  of  art  he  would  behold  throngs 
of  men,  women,  and  youth  of  high  intelligence  and  true 
virtue,  with  minds  irradiated  with  eternal  truth,  and 
hearts  glowing  with  love  to  God  and  man,  the  redeemed 
disciples  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  heirs  of  immortal 
glory, — a  more  happy  vale,  perhaps,  than  any  of  its  mag 
nitude  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  whose  sons  and 
daughters  have  carried  the  light  of  the  gospel  to  the 
ends  of  the  world. 

A  wampum  belt  compressed  her  mantle's  fold. 

Canto  I.  st.  26. 

The  use  of  wampum  by  way  of  ornament  in  various 
articles  of  dress  furnished  a  fine  proof  of  taste  and  skill 
on  the  part  of  the  Indian  women.  The  wampum  is  a 
small  bead  or  cylinder,  made  of  a  sea  shell,  a  quarter  of 
an  inch  long,  and  strung  together,  and  thus  attached  by 
way  of  ornament  to  a  leather  belt  or  other  article  of 
clothing.  When  the  beads  were  in  strings  or  unstrung, 
they  were  passed  as  money,  called  peag.  Commonly 
these  were  white ;  and  hence  the  name  of  wampum 
from  wampi,  white;  but  when  made  of  the  black  or 


200  NOTES. 

purple  part  of  a  shell,  they  were  of  double  value.  The 
white  were  made  of  the  metauhock,  or  periwinkle,  and 
the  black  of  the  paquauhock.  Sucki  meaning  black, 
they  called  this  black  money  suckauhock.  Before  their 
acquaintance  with  the  English  they  drilled  or  bored  the 
shells  with  stones ;  but  afterwards  with  awls.  At  one 
tune  it  required  450  beads  to  make  a  strand,  worth  a 
dollar  and  a  half.  Speaking  of  these  beads,  Josselyn 
said,  "  they  make  many  curious  works  with  them  to 
adorn  the  persons  of  their  Sagamores  and  principal  men 
and  young  women,  as  belts,  girdles,  tablets,  borders  for 
their  women's  hair,  bracelets,  necklaces,  and  links  to 
hang  in  their  ears.  The  English  merchant  giveth  them 
ten  shillings  a  fathom  for  their  white  and  as  much  more 
for  their  blue  beads." 

The  wampum  was  tastefully  employed  in  making 
beautiful  bracelets,  black  and  white  in  stripes,  nearly 
a  yard  long,  and  worn  about  the  wrist,  or  in  ornament 
ing  the  leather  moccasins  or  other  parts  of  dress,  and  in 
decorating  their  various  bark  baskets. 

The  wampum  strings  were  also  woven  into  girdles  or 
belts,  the  black  and  white  arranged  in  squares  or  other 
figures.  This  was  a  rich  and  elegant  part  of  dress ; — and 
valuable  belts  were  also  noble  and  acceptable  presents. 

The  moccasins  were  beautiful  Indian  shoes,  made  of 
soft  deerskin,  without  soles,  with  a  kind  of  lappets  on 
each  side,  ornamented  with  wampum,  or  porcupine  quills 
dyed  of  red,  yellow,  and  other  colors. 


NOTES.  201 

Canto  1.     Stanza  29. 

The  word  Mohekun  I  have  formed  by  a  slight  varia 
tion  of  the  generic  word  Mohegan,  so  that  the  bearer  of 
this  name  may  fitly  and  by  an  easy  association  be  viewed 
as  the  representative  of  his  tribe. 

Canto  I.     Stanza  41. 

I  should  be  glad  to  introduce  the  poetic  nightingale 
and  sky-lark  into  my  verse  ;  but  unhappily  they  do  not 
belong  to  America.  Nor  is  the  wonderful  mocking-bird 
heard  in  New  England.  We  have  reason  to  be  delighted 
with  the  hearty  robin  and  cheerful  cat-bird,  and  other 
thrushes,  as  well  as  with  the  Baltimore  oriole,  more  recent 
ly  known  amongst  us.  John  Gorgas,  of  Wilmington,  Del., 
imported  42  sky-larks,  and  liberated  them  in  March  and 
April,  1853,  hoping  they  would  increase  in  this  country. 

Such  seQp,  the  rules,  to  modern  poets  given. 

Canto  I.  st.  51. 

That  modern  poets,  believers  in  the  Christian  religion, 
should  address  in  their  writings  the  heathen  gods,  as  if 
they  were  real  beings,  it  is  not  easy  to  account  for,  un 
less  it  be  owing  to  their  perfect  familiarity,  by  reason  of 
their  education,  with  the  polytheism  of  the  pagans. 
The  following  are  a  few  instances : — 

Gray  addresses  Adversity  as  the  "  daughter  of  Jove," 
and  he  calls  her  "  dread  goddess." 
Collins  speaks  to  Liberty : — 
"  O,  goddess — 
Let  not  my  shell's  misguided  power 


202  NOTES. 

E'er  draw  thy  sad,  thy  mindful  tears." 
Thomson  also  deifies  Liberty — 

"  Oh,  gracious  goddess  !  reinspire  my  song." 
Akenside  calls  upon  the   "goddess  of  the  lyre" — 
"  eternal  harmony  " — to  descend. 

Armstrong  does  not  explain  what  he  means,  when  he 
says — 

"  Ye,  guardian  gods,  on  whom  the  fates  depend 
Of  tottering  Albion." 
Campbell,  in  his  Gertrude,  says — 
«  O,  Love  !— 

And  here  thou  art  a  god  indeed  divine." 
All  this  is  very  much  in  the  manner,  in  which  the 
Roman  Catholics  address  their  worship  to  the  Virgin 
Mary.  For  them,  however,  it  may  be  said,  that  they 
believe  or  endeavor  to  believe,  that  their  idolatry  is  in 
nocent.  Without  doubt  the  poets  believe,  that  their 
worship  is  very  idle,  and  means  nothing. 

Canto  I.    Stanza  52. 

The  Indian  canoe,  carrying  two  or  more  persons,  is 
often  very  beautiful,  and  is  a  remarkable  specimen  of 
Indian  ingenuity.  Josselyn,  long  ago,  gave  the  following 
description : — 

"  Their  canoes  are  made  of  birch.  They  shape  them 
with  flat  ribs  of  white  cedar,  and  cover  them  with  large 
sheets  of  birch-bark,  sewing  them  through  with  strong 
threads  of  spruce  roots  or  white  cedar,  and  pitch  them 
with  a  mixture  of  turpentine  and  the  hard  rosin,  that  is 
dried  with  the  air  on  the  outside  of  the  bark  of  fir-trees." 


NOTES.  203 

"  If  their  canoe  overturns,  they  can  swim  naturally, 
striking  their  paws  under  their  throat  like  a  dog,  and 
not  spreading  their  arms,  as  we  do  ;  they  turn  their 
canoe  again,  and  go  into  it  in  the  water." 

Mr.  McKenney  describes  one  of  the  larger  canoes,  in 
which  he  travelled  on  Lake  Superior  in  1826,  as  follows: 
"  Its  length  is  thirty  feet  and  its  breadth  across  the  widest 
part  about  four  feet.  It  is  about  two  and  a  half  feet 
deep  in  the  centre — its  bottom  is  rounded  and  has  no 
keel.  The  materials,  of  which  this  canoe  is  built,  are 
birch-bark  and  red  cedar,  the  whole  fastened  together 
with  wattap  and  gum,  without  a  nail  or  bit  of  iron  of 
any  sort  to  confine  the  parts.  The  entire  outside  is 
bark — the  bark  of  the  birch  tree — and  where  the  edges 
join  at  the  bottom  or  along  the  sides,  they  are  sewn  with 
this  wattap,  and  then  along  the  line  of  the  seam  it  is 
gummed.  Next  to  the  bark  are  pieces  of  cedar,  shaven 
thin,  not  thicker  than  the  blade  of  a  knife — these  run 
horizontally,  and  are  pressed  against  the  bark  by  means 
of  these  ribs  of  cedar,  which  fit  the  shape  of  the  canoe, 
bottom  and  sides,  and  coming  up  to  the  edges  are  pointed 
and  let  into  a  rim  of  cedar  of  about  an  inch  and  a  half 
wide,  and  an  inch  thick,  that  forms  the  gunwale  of 
the  canoe,  and  to  which  by  means  of  the  wattap  the 
bark  and  the  ribs  are  all  sewed;  the  wattap  being 
wrapped  over  the  gunwale  and  passed  through  the 
bark  and  ribs.  Across  the  canoe  are  bars,  some 
five  or  six,  that  keep  the  canoe  in  shape.  These  are 
fastened  by  bringing  their  ends  against  the  gunwale, 


204  NOTES. 

or  edge,  and  fastening  them  to  it  with  wattap.    The 
paddles  are  of  red  cedar,  and  are  very,  light." 

The  seats  are  swung  across  by  means  of  two  pieces  of 
rope  passing  through  each  end  from  the  gunwale.  The 
wattap  are  strips  or  threads  of  the  roots  of  the  spruce  or 
cedar,  and  gum  is  taken  from  the  pine  and  boiled,  when 
it  becomes  hard.  Such  a  large  canoe  carries  about  a 
dozen  persons  and  five  hundred  pounds  of  baggage. 
Much  of  the  work  in  building  a  canoe  is  imposed  upon 
the  squaws.  "  From  the  building  of  a  lodge  to  the  boil 
ing  of  a  kettle,  and  from  the  making  of  their  husbands' 
moccasins  to  the  construction  of  their  canoes,  and  to  the 
gumming  and  sewing  them,  when  they  require  it,  is  an 
Indian  woman's  employment." 

Canto  II.     Stanza  7. 

As  to  the  religious  opinions  of  the  Hoosatunnuk  In 
dians,  some  were  atheists ;  "  others  believed  the  sun  to 
be  God,  or  at  least  the  body  or  residence  of  the  Deity ; 
but  now  they  generally  believed  the  existence  of  one 
supreme,  invisible  Being,  the  maker  of  all  things.  They 
believed  the  seven  stars  were  so  many  Indians  translated 
to  heaven  in  a  dance ;  that  the  stars  in  Charles's  wain  are 
so  many  men  hunting  a  bear ;  that  they  begin  the  chase 
in  the  spring  and  hold  it  all  summer ;  by  the  fall  they 
have  wounded  it,  and  that  the  blood  turns  the  leaves 
red ;  by  the  winter  they  have  killed  it,  and  the  snow  is 
made  of  its  fat ;  which,  being  melted  by  the  heat  of  the 
summer,  makes  the  sap  of  trees." — Hopkins. 


NOTES.  205 

Canto  II.    Stanza  8. 

Rev.  Samuel  Hopkins,  of  Springfield,  who  wrote  the 
Historical  Memoirs  of  these  Indians  in  1752,  describes 
their  houses  as  follows :  "  A  wigwaum  is  an  Indian 
house,  in  building  of  which  they  take  small  flexible  poles 
and  stick  them  into  the  ground  round  such  space,  as  they 
intend  for  the  bigness  of  their  house,  whether  greater 
or  less ;  those  poles  they  bend  from  each  side  and  fasten 
them  together,  making  an  arch  overhead.  Then  they 
fasten  small  sticks  to  them,  cutting  the  poles  at  right  an 
gles,  which  serve  for  ribs.  After  which  they  cover  the 
whole  with  the  bark  of  trees,  leaving  a  hole  in  the  top 
for  the  smoke  to  go  out,  and  at  one  or  both  ends  to  go  in 
and  out" 

A  rough  bark  altar,  plac'd  on  wigwam's  floor. 

Canto  H.  st.  8. 

Some  of  the  various  uses,  made  by  Indian  ingenuity 
of  the  comparatively  flexible  and  beautiful  birch  bark, 
are  explained  by  Josselyn : — 

"  Delicate  sweet  dishes  they  make  of  birch  bark,  sewed 
with  threads,  drawn  from  spruce  or  white  cedar  roots, 
and  garnished  on  the  outside  with  flourished  works,  and 
on  the  brims  with  glistening  quills,  taken  from  the  porcu 
pine,  and  dyed,  some  black,  others  red.  The  white  are 
natural.  Kettles,  too,  they  make  of  birchen  bark,  which 
they  used  before  they  traded  with  the  French  for  copper 
kettles,  by  which  you  may  apparently  see,  that  necessity 
was  at  first  the  mother  of  all  inventions." 


206  NOTES. 

Dark  faces  round  the  gloomy  cabin  lower. 

Canto  II.  st.  8. 

Josselyn,  who  arrived  in  1663,  and  lived  in  this  coun 
try  several  years,  and  was  conversant  with  the  Indians, 
published  New  England  Rarities,  also  an  account  of  two 
Voyages  to  New  England.  His  description  of  the  ap 
pearance,  character,  and  manners  of  the  Indians  is  as 
follows : — 

"  They  are  tall  and  handsome-timbered  people,  out- 
wristed,  pale  and  lean,  Tartarian  visaged,  black-eyed, 
which  is  accounted  the  strongest  for  sight,  and  generally 
black-haired,  both  smooth  and  curled,  wearing  it  long. 
No  beards  or  very  rarely  ;  their  teeth  are  very  white, 
short,  and  even  ;  they  account  them  the  most  necessary 
and  best  parts  of  man.  And  as  the  Austrians  are  known 
by  their  great  lips,  the  Bavarians  by  their  pokes  under 
their  chins,  the  Jews  by  their  goggle-eyes,  so  the  Indians 
by  their  flat  noses ;  yet  are  they  not  so  much  depressed, 
as  they  are  to  the  Southward." 

"  The  Indesses,  that  are  young,  are  some  of  them 
very  comely,  having  good  features,  their  faces  plump 
and  round,  and  generally  plump  of  their  bodies,  as  are 
the  men  likewise,  and  as  soft  and  smooth  as  a  mole-skin, 
of  reasonable,  good  complexions,  but  that  they  dye 
themselves  tawny  ;  many  pretty  brunettoes  and  spider- 
fingered  lasses  may  be  seen  amongst  them."  —  "  Very 
fingurative  or  thievish,  and  bold,  importunate  beggars, 
both  men  and  women,  guilty  of  misoxeny,  or  hatred  to 
strangers,  a  quality  appropriated  to  the  old  Brittains; 
all  of  them  cannibals,  eaters  of  human  flesh."  This 


NOTES.  207 

last  trait  is  not  very  certain,  though  he  asserts,  that  while 
he  was  in  the  country  they  seized  a  boat-load  of  men 
and  eat  them  up ;  and  notwithstanding  he  had  read,  that 
"  they  would  not  eat  a  Spaniard,  till  they  had  kept  him 
two  or  three  days  to  wax  tender,  because  their  flesh  was 
hard."  In  this  case  they  did  not  have  so  good  fare,  as 
the  heathen  Irish,  who,  as  Josselyn  says,  "  used  to  feed 
upon  the  buttocks  of  boys." 

"  Their  age  they  reckon  by  moons,  and  their  actions 
by  sleeps  ;  as,  if  they  go  a  journey,  or  are  to  do  any 
other  business,  they  will  say — three  sleeps  me  walk,  or 
two  or  three  sleeps  me  do  such  a  thing, — that  is,  in  two 
or  three  days." 

"  Their  drink  they  fetch  from  the  spring,  and  were 
not  acquainted  with  other,  until  the  French  and  Eng 
lish  traded  with  that  cursed  liquor,  called  rum,  rum-bul 
lion,  or  kill-devil.  This  they  love  dearly,  and  will  part 
with  all  they  have  to  their  bare  skins  for  it.  Thus, 
instead  of  bringing  them  to  the  knowledge  of  Christian 
ity,  we  have  taught  them  to  commit  the  beastly  and 
crying  sins  of  our  nation  for  a  little  profit." 

Canto  II.    Stanza  9. 

Rev.  G.  Hawley  says :  "  I  have  observed  in  every 
part  of  the  country  and  among  every  tribe  of  Indians 
such  heaps  of  stones  or  sticks.  The  largest  heap  is  that 
large  collection  of  small  stones  on  the  mountain  between 
Stockbridge  and  Great  Barrington.  We  have  a  sacri 
fice  rock,  as  it  is  termed,  between  Plymouth  and  Sand 
wich,  to  which  stones  and  sticks  are  always  cast  by  In- 


208  NOTES. 

dians,  who  pass  it.  This  custom  or  rite  is  an  acknowl 
edgment  of  an  invisible  being.  We  may  style  him  the 
unknown  God,  whom  this  people  worship.  This  heap  is 
his  altar." 

Mr.  Bryant,  in  his  poems,  recites  the  tradition  of  a 
young  Indian,  who  from  disappointed  love  threw  herself 
down  the  rocky  precipice  of  Monument  Mountain,  in 
memorial  of  whom  the  stones  were  supposed  to  be  piled 
up. 

The  Dighton  or  Assonet  inscription  on  a  Rock,  which 
has  persuaded  some  writers,  that  America  was  discovered 
before  Columbus,  has  been  satisfactorily  explained  by 
Ching-wauk,  of  St.  Mary's  River,  employed  in  1839,  by 
Mr.  Schoolcraft.  This  Indian,  called  a  prophet,  is  at 
least  skilful  in  picture-writing.  His  explanation  is, 
that  the  inscription  relates  to  two  nations  of  the  ancient 
Wakenakies  of  New  England,  recording  the  exploits  of 
a  war  captain  and  prophet.  The  lynx  is  a  totemic  de 
vice  ;  the  sun  is  the  same,  heraldic  of  the  clan.  He 
finds  a  war  camp,  pipe,  idol,  lodge,  bow  bent,  and  lance. 
The  three  crosses  denote  three  dead  bodies. 

A  totem  is  the  pictorial  device  or  signature  of  a  clan. 
Mr.  Schoolcraft  enumerates  10  totemic  devices,  as  fol 
lows  :  1.  crane;  2.  marten;  3.  bear;  4.  catfish ;  5. 
brant ;  6.  long-tailed  bear ;  7.  sturgeon ;  8.  spring 
duck;  9.  eagle;  10.  elk.  He  speaks  of  an  Indian  as 
striking  at  the  totem  of  a  bear,  which  was  on  a  board  in 
a  graveyard. 

As  his  signature  Canonicus  made  the  figure  of  a  bow ; 
his  nephew,  Miantonomo,  made  that  of  an  arrow.  Mo- 


NOTES.  209 

maugum  of  Quinnlpiac  or  New  Haven  made  the  signa 
ture  of  a  bow  and  string ;  Montowese  made  that  of  a 
bow  and  arrow ;  Sawsounk  that  of  what  seems  to  be  a 
hatchet ;  and  by  others  were  used  marks  of  little  ex 
pressiveness.  If  one  may  guess  from  the  rough  figures 
employed,  the  totem  of  the  Indians  of  Norridgewock 
was  a  dog,  of  Pentugooay  an  elk,  of  Aumissookonti  an 
eagle,  of  Maunbesic  a  turtle,  of  Pegwauki  a  goose,  of 
Medokteck  a  fox,  of  the  Micmacs  a  deer,  of  Pesmokaunti 
a  crane,  of  the  Algonkins  a  frog,  of  the  Hurons  a  duck 
or  other  bird,  of  the  Papinachois  a  monkey.  The  Nor- 
akomigoos,  Arsikauntegoos,  Wauniweenauks,  Iroquois, 
Mickmacks,  and  Mountaineers  had  unknown  animals  for 
totems. 

As  to  the  Wakenakies,  said  to  be  referred  to  by  the 
Indian,  it  is  not  probable,  that  he  ever  used  the  word 
with  reference  to  the  supposed  old  inhabitants  of  Massa 
chusetts  near  Rhode  Island.  Abenaki  is  a  word,  mean 
ing  the  east,  used  by  certain  French  writers  to  denote 
the  Indian  tribes  in  Maine,  living  to  the  east  of  Canada, 
between  Quebec  and  the  Atlantic. 

Canto  11.    Stanza  11. 

Winslow  says,  "  the  office  and  duty  of  the  Powwow  is 
to  be  exercised  principally  in  calling  upon  the  devil  and 
curing  diseases  of  the  sick  and  wounded.  The  com 
mon  people  join  with  him  in  the  exercise  of  invocation, 
but  do  but  only  assent,  or,  as  we  term  it,  say  amen  to 
that  he  saith ;  yet  sometimes  break  out  into  a  short  mu 
sical  note  with  him.  The  Powwow  is  eager  and  free  in 
14 


210  NOTES. 

speech,  fierce  in  countenance,  and  joineth  many  antic 
and  laborious  gestures  with  the  same  over  the  party  dis 
eased."  He  pretends,  that  Hobbamock  as  a  snake, 
askooke,  or  as  an  eagle,  wobsacuck,  sits  invisible  on  his 
shoulder  and  licks  the  wound.  In  his  speech  "  he  prom 
ises  to  sacrifice  many  skins  of  beasts,  kettles,  hatchets, 
beads,  knives,  and  other  the  best  things  they  have  to  the 
fiend,  if  he  will  come  to  help  the  party  diseased.  Many 
sacrifices  the  Indians  use,  and  in  some  cases  kill  chil 
dren." 

Canto  II.     Stanza  25—28. 

These  catholic  miracles  of  the  hermit  Clare,  St.  Dun- 
stan,  and  St.  Ivo,  with  a  multitude  of  others  equally 
marvellous,  are  found  in  authentic  Catholic  books, 
particularly  in  "  the  Church  History  of  Brittany,"  writ 
ten  by  Father  Cressy,  a  Benedictine  Monk,  and  published 
by  authority  in  a  folio  volume,  in  1668.  A  modern 
Catholic  writer,  Dr.  Milner,  in  his  "  End  of  Controversy," 
maintains,  that  God  in  every  age  "  has  illustrated  the 
Catholic  church,  chiefly  by  means  of  his  saints,  with  un 
deniable  miracles."  Among  his  instances,  he  says,  "  a 
stupendous  miracle  took  place  in  Saragossa  in  1640,  on 
one  Michael  Pellicer,  whose  leg  having  been  amputated, 
he,  by  his  prayers,  obtained  a  new  natural  leg ;" — but  he 
does  not  say,  whether  it  was  put  on  at  once,  or  grew  out 
gradually,  as  the  leg  of  a  lobster,  which  had  been  torn 
away.  Another  of  his  miracles  is  the  instant  cure, 
March  10,  1823,  at  the  city  of  Washington  of  Mrs. 
Anne  Mattingley,  of  the  palsy,  by  the  prayers  of  prince 


NOTES.  211 

• 

Hohenlohe  in  Germany,  with  the  aid  of  a  priest  to  give 
her  the  consecrated  bread.  She  had  been  sick  six  years, 
and  was  the  sister  of  Capt.  Thomas  Carberry,  Mayor  of 
Washington  :  her  cure  was  deemed  by  her  friends 
"  equal  to  the  resuscitation  of  Lazarus  from  the  grave." 

When  new  succeeds  to  old  idolatry. — Canto  II.  st.  29. 
The  worship  of  the  Virgin  Mary  in  the  established 
Catholic  service  is  most  obviously  nothing  less  than  idol 
atry  :  it  is  paying  to  the  creature  the  homage,  which  is  due 
only  to  God.  And  what  is  the  bowing  down  to  a  piece 
of  bread  but  idolatry  ?  What  else  than  idolatry  is  the 
worship  of  dead  saints  or  of  their  images,  or  of  a  piece 
of  wood  or  of  metal  in  the  shape  of  a  cross  ?  The  divine 
commandment  most  explicitly  interdicts  the  worship  of 
any  image  whatever,  and  even  the  making  of  any  image 
of  God.  Yet  among  the  works  of  art  in  the  churches 
of  Catholic  Italy  it  is  not  uncommon  to  find  pictures  of 
the  Almighty,  of  which  even  some  Protestant  travellers 
speak  without  expressing  any  surprise  or  indignant  emo 
tion.  Guido  fainted  the  Eternal  Father  and  Jesus 
Christ  crowning  the  Virgin,  carried  by  angels  to  heaven. 
He  also  painted  the  Father,  borne  on  clouds,  accompa 
nied  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  Cherubims  holding  the 
cross,  on  which  the  Son  hangs.  This  picture  is  in  the 
church  at  Rome  della  Trinita  di  Pellegrini.  An  en 
graving  was  made  by  Dorigni.  Benedetti  also  painted 
the  Father  and  the  Holy  Spirit  contemplating  the  infant 
Jesus.  From  Mr.  Hillard's  travels  we  learn  the  follow 
ing  facts :  Raphael's  first  fresco  is  in  the  church  of  S. 


212  NOTES. 

• 

Severe  at  Perugio,  in  which  is  "  God  the  Father  -with 
two  child  angels."  In  the  church  of  San  Romano  at 
Lucca  is  a  picture,  called  Madonna  della  Misericordia, 
by  Fra  Bartolomeo.  "  The  Virgin  stands  with  uplifted 
hands  in  the  attitude  of  supplication.  Above  is  God 
the  Father  with  several  cherubs.  In  front  are  several 
portrait  figures.  An  old  woman  in  red  is  admirable." 
"  In  the  same  church  is  another  work  by  him  of  uncom 
mon  merit:  St.  Catharine  and  Mary  Magdalen  are 
kneeling,  and  the  Almighty  above.  Mary  Magdalen  is 
in  red  and  holding  a  vase — St.  Catharine  is  in  a  kind  of 
monastic  robe  of  yellow — both  admirable  figures."  In 
the  Hall  of  Exchange  at  Perugio  is  a  fresco,  on  one  side 
of  which  are  "  several  sibyls  and  prophets,  with  the  Al 
mighty  in  glory  above  them,"  painted  by  Perugino. 

Canto  II.    Stanza  31. 

As  evidence  of  the  power  of  the  gospel  among  these 
Indians  the  following  facts  may  be  mentioned. 

Hannah  Umpachenee,  wife  of  the  lieutenant,  died 
July  14,  1741,  "  with  a  comfortable  hope«of  eternal  life, 
spending  her  last  moments  in  exhorting  her  husband 
and  children  to  godliness." 

Mary  Kunkapot,  wife  of  John  Kunkapot,  died  March 
29,  1742,  of  consumption — "having  enjoyed,  all  along 
in  her  sickness,  a  good  hope  through  grace  of  a  happy 
eternity." 

Katharine  Kunkapot,  eldest  daughter  of  Kunkapot, 
died  in  1 746,  "  with  good  hope  of  future  happiness  and 
without  any  fears  of  death." 


NOTES.  213 

In  1746,  died  Kewaunnoahkuh,  daughter  of  Naun- 
aunekennuk,  "  with  a  strong  hope  of  eternal  life." 

Peter  Pohquonnoppeet,  graduate  of  Dartmouth  Col 
lege  in  1 780,  called  Sir  Peter,  after  the  death  of  King 
Solomon,  was  one  of  a  council,  which  governed  the 
Stockbridge  Indians  or  regulated  their  affairs.  The 
others  were  Joseph  Quanaukaunt,  Capt.  Hendrick  Au- 
paumut,  and  Capt.  John  Kunkapot.  The  first  was 
really  chief — but  preferred  a  council. 

The  second  deacon  in  the  church  of  Stockbridge  was 
Peter  Pauquaunaupeet. 

One  of  my  neighbors,  a  venerable  lady  now  on  the 
verge  of  80,  a  granddaughter  of  President  Edwards, 
born  in  Stockbridge,  remembers  a  Capt.  Kunkapot,  a 
principal  Indian  among  the  Mohegans,  who  was  born  in 
1775,  and  was  probably  a  grandson  of  the  first  Capt. 
Kunkapot ;  he  removed  to  the  West.  Madam  Dwight 
has  not  forgotten  this  anecdote,  that  as  he  once  visited 
Stockbridge  on  his  return  from  an  agency  at  Washing 
ton  for  the  benefit  of  his  tribe,  he  presented  the  unusual 
sight  of  an  Indian  with  a  good  set  of  false  teeth.  When 
rallied  for  it,  he  good-humoredly  replied,  that  it  was  to 
please  his  squaw  !  She  remembers  also,  Capt.  Hendrick 
Aupaumut,  usually  called  Hendrick,  who  died  long  ago, 
and  his  daughter  Betsey,  an  intelligent  and  excellent 
woman.  She  was  the  correspondent  of  Miss  Edwards, 
who  married  Mr.  Farrar.  Another  Indian  is  by  her  re 
membered, — David  Naunaunekennuk,  usually  called 
Nauneek,  who  was  90  years  old  about  the  year  1790. 
Mr.  Sergeant  baptized  him  in  1 735 ;  he  was  then  "  a 


214  NOTES. 

principal  man,  of  a  very  good  temper  and  good  sense, 
honest,  faithful,  and  obliging."  When  she  was  a  little 
girl,  she  visited  him  at  his  house  of  two  rooms  on  the 
westerly  side  of  the  Hoosatunnuk  River.  He  was  said 
to  be  very  rich,  the  owner  of  60  horses.  His  house  was 
afterwards  owned  by  the  missionary  Kirkland,  who  en 
larged  it  and  placed  his  family  in  it.  This  estate,  fur 
nishing  an  admirable  site  for  an  elegant  mansion,  it  is 
said,  has  recently  fallen  into  the  hands  of  a  distinguished 
poet. 

Mr.  Sergeant  wrote,  that  when  he  first  came  to  Stock- 
bridge,  there  were  only  8  or  10  families,  but  that  in  1746 
there  were  near  fifty,  and  that  he  had  of  Indians  thirty- 
five  regular  members  of  the  church,  13  men  and  22  wo 
men,  besides  half  a  dozen  members  under  suspension, 
probably  for  being  intoxicated  with  the  strong  drink, 
introduced  by  the  Dutch  traders.  He  adds — "  of  our 
communion  have  died  8  or  9,  most  of  whom  seem  to  me 
to  have  left  the  world  with  a  good  Christian  temper  and 
with  a  well-grounded  hope."  At  the  death  of  Mr.  Ser 
geant  there  were  218  Indians,  of  whom  129  had  been 
baptized,  and  the  church-members  were  42  :  the  whole 
number,  by  him  baptized,  was  182.  Umpachenee,  the 
lieutenant,  died  in  peace  Aug.  10,  1751.  He  had  been 
overcome  by  the  temptation  of  intoxicating  liquor,  but 
was  reclaimed  and  passed  his  last  days  without  dishon 
oring  his  Christian  profession. 


NOTES.  215 

Canto  II.    Stanza  34,  35. 

The  names  of  Eliot  and  of  others,  who  like  him  toiled 
to  instruct  the  Indians  in  the  great  truths  of  the  Chris 
tian  religion,  deserve  to  be  held  in  everlasting  remem 
brance. 

John  Eliot,  called  the  Apostle  of  the  Indians,  was  born 
in  1604,  educated  at  Cambridge,  England,  and  came  to 
this  country  in  1631.  The  next  year  he  was  settled  as 
the  minister  of  Roxbury,  where  he  died  May  20,  1690, 
aged  86.  He  first  preached  to  the  Indians  in  their  lan 
guage  at  Newton  in  1646.  In  1651  an  Indian  town  was 
built  on  Charles  River  and  called  Natick.  Here  he 
formed  the  first  Indian  church  in  1660,  after  the  man 
ner  of  the  Congregational  churches.  Soon  other  churches 
were  planted.  In  1661  he  published  the  New  Testa 
ment  in  the  Natick  or  Massachusetts  language ;  and  in 
1663  his  immense  work,  the  translation  of  the  whole 
Bible,  of  which  a  second  edition  was  printed  in  1685, — 
entitled  Mamusse  Wunneetupanatamwe  Up-Biblum 
God  naneeswe  Nukkone  Testament  kah  wonk  Wusku 
Testament.  The  words  are  generally  long.  Mark  1:  40. 
Wuttappesittukqussunnoohwehtunkquoh  is  one  word, 
meaning  'Kneeling  down  to  him/  He  published  the 
Psalms  in  Indian  metre,  and  among  other  works  '  The 
Jews  in  America,'  in  order  to  prove  that  the  Indians 
were  Jewish  descendants.  Mr.  Eliot's  son,  John  Eliot, 
minister  of  Newton,  preached  to  the  Indians  in  Stough- 
ton  a  few  years.  He  died  in  1668,  aged  32. 

Daniel  Gookin,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  in  1669,  was 
the  minister  of  Sherburne  and  preached  to  the  Indians 
at  Natick.  He  died  in  1 718. 


216  NOTES. 

Thomas  Mayhew,  Governor  of  Martha's  Vineyard, 
began  at  the  age  of  seventy  to  preach  to  the  Indians,  about 
1659.  He  died  in  1681,  aged  92. 

John  Cotton,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College  in  1657, 
preached  to  the  Indians  on  Martha's  "Vineyard  from 
1664  to  1667,  giving  great  aid  to  Mayhew.  He  was 
afterwards  many  years  the  minister  of  Plymouth. 

John  Mayhew,  son  of  Thomas,  began  to  preach  to  the 
Indians  about  1673,  being  the  minister  of  Tisbury  on 
Martha's  Vineyard.  He  died  1689,  aged  36,  leaving  an 
Indian  church  of  100  communicants  and  several  well- 
instructed  Indian  teachers  in  different  congregations. 

His  son,  Experience  Mayhew,  began  to  preach  to  the 
Indians  in  1694,  taking  the  oversight  of  five  or  six 
of  their  assemblies.  He  made  a  new  version  of  the 
Psalms  and  of  John  in  1709,  and  died  in  1758,  aged  85. 
He  published  Indian  Converts  in  1727,  giving  an  account 
of  thirty  Indian  ministers  and  of  about  eighty  Indians 
worthy  of  remembrance  for  their  piety. 

His  son,  Zechariah  Mayhew,  a  missionary  to  the  same 
Indians,  was  ordained  in  1 767,  and  died  in  1806,  aged  89. 

Hiacoomes,  an  Indian  preacher,  began  to  teach  his 
brethren  on  Martha's  Vineyard  in  1645.  When  an  In 
dian  church  was  formed,  Aug.  22,  1670,  he  and  Tacka- 
nash  were  ordained  by  Eliot  and  Cotton  as  its  pastor  and 
teacher.  He  died  in  1690,  aged  nearly  80.  Japhet  suc 
ceeded  Tackanash. 

Joseph  Bourne,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  College  in 
1 722,  was  a  missionary  to  the  Indians  at  Marshpee  from 
1729  to  1742,  being  the  successor  of  Simon  Popmonet, 
and  was  succeeded  by  Solomon  Briant,  an  Indian. 


NOTES.  217 

Gideon  Hawley  was  a  missionary  at  Marshpee  from 
1758  till  his  death  in  1807,  aged  80  years. 

David  Brainerd  was  a  missionary  four  or  five  years  to 
Indians  in  New  York  and  New  Jersey,  and  died  at  Mr. 
Edwards'sin  Northampton  in  1747,  aged  29. 

John  Sergeant  was  missionary  to  the  Indians  at  Hoo- 
satunnuk  from  1734  to  1749,  when  he  died  at  the  age 
of  48. 

Jonathan  Edwards  was  his  successor  from  1751  to 
1758,  preaching  also  to  the  whites.  His  assistant  in 
teaching  the  Indians  in  1752  and  1753  was  Gideon 
Hawley. 

Dr.  Stephen  West  succeeded  Mr.  Edwards  as  the  min 
ister  of  Stockbridge  in  1 759.  To  his  church  he  admit 
ted  twenty-two  Indians.  During  his  ministry  they 
emigrated  to  New  York 

Dr.  Eleazar  Wheelock,  first  President  of  Dartmouth 
College,  opened  an  Indian  school  at  Lebanon  Crank, 
now  Columbia,  in  Connecticut,  in  1754.  His  first  In 
dian  pupil,  some  years  before,  was  Samson  Occom.  In 
1762,  he  had  more  than  twenty  Indian  youth  under  his 
care.  The  school  was  known  by  the  name  of  Moor's 
Indian  Charity  School,  and  was  in  1770  removed  to 
Hanover,  New  Hampshire,  and  associated  with  Dart 
mouth  College,  but  still  kept  as  a  separate  institution. 
Here  many  Indian  youth  have  been  educated,  and, 
among  them,  two  sons  of  the  celebrated  Brant.  Dr. 
E.  Wheelock  died  in  1779,  aged  68.  For  enlarged 
views,  for  energy  and  arduous,  persevering  toils,  and 
the  great  results  of  his  labors  in  the  cause  of  religion 


218  NOTES. 

and  learning,  no  man  is  more  worthy  of  being  held  in 
honor.  His  son,  John  Wheelock,  LL.D.,  succeeded  him 
both  as  President  of  the  College  and  President  of  the 
Indian  School ;  and  by  his  successors  at  the  head  of  the 
College  both  offices  have  in  like  manner  been  sus 
tained. 

Canto  IL    Stanza  38. 

Samuel  Newell  and  Gordon  Hall,  two  of  the  first 
missionaries  sent  out  to  the  East  by  the  American  Board 
of  Missions,  sailed  in  1812.  The  former,  a  graduate  of 
Harvard  College  in  1807,  died  of  the  cholera  at  Bom 
bay,  in  1821.  Mr.  Hall,  a  graduate  of  Williams  Col 
lege  in  1808,  died  also  of  the  cholera  in  1826.  Mr. 
Newell  I  well  knew  as  an  associate  of  a  small  company 
of  pious  men  at  Cambridge,  and  also  Mr.  Hall  as  a  zeal 
ous  preacher.  They  wrote  together  '  The  Conversion  of 
the  World,  or  the  Claims  of  Six-hundred  Millions.'  Mr. 
Hall's  son,  of  the  same  name,  is  now  one  of  the  ministers 
of  Northampton  ;  and  his  widow  lives  with  his  son. 

The  real,  efficient  charity  of  these  American  Mission 
aries,  who  sacrificed  their  lives,  that  they  might  carry 
the  gospel  to  the  perishing  idolaters  of  the  East,  was 
very  different  from  the  charity  of  the  East  in  the  idle 
prayers  and  cheap  expedients,  described  by  M.  Hue  in 
his  travels  in  Tartary  relating  to  the  benevolent  method 
of  sending  horses  to  travellers,  as  follows  : — 

"  Sandara  proposed  to  us  a  service  of  devotion  for  all 
travellers  through  the  world.  What  is  it  ? — You  know, 
that  a  good  many  travellers  find  themselves  -on  rugged 


NOTES.  219 

and  toilsome  roads.  Some  are  holy  lamas  on  a  pilgrim 
age  ;  and  it  often  happens,  that  they  cannot  proceed, 
and  we  aid  them  by  sending  them  horses.  '  That,'  said 
we, '  is  an  admirable  custom,  conformable  with  the  prin 
ciples  of  Christian  charity  ;  but  we  cannot  participate 
in  the  good  work, — we  have  only  a  horse  and  a  little 
mule  to  carry  us  into  Thibet.'  He  clapped  his  hands 
and  burst  into  a  loud  laugh.  He  ran  off,  and  soon  re 
turned  with  his  hands  filled  with  bits  of  paper,  on  which 
were  figures  of  horses  saddled  and  bridled,  going  at  full 
gallop.  Here  are  the  horses,  he  said,  which  we  send  to 
travellers.  We  ascend  a  high  mountain ,  and  after  prayer 
throw  a  packet  into  the  air.  The  wind  carries  them, 
and  by  the  power  of  Buddha  they  are  changed  into 
real  horses,  which  offer  themselves  to  the  travellers." 

Canto  II.    Stanza  42. 

Since  these  lines  were  written,  England,  to  her  eternal 
honor  has  liberated  all  her  slaves  in  the  West  In 
dies, — an  act  of  humanity  and  justice  to  be  attributed 
to  the  earnest  efforts  of  her  enlightened  patriots  and 
Christians. 

But  I  blush  to  say,  that  in  our  American  Republic 
the  chains  of  slavery  are  every  day  growing  stronger  and 
stronger,  and  the  territories  devoted  to  slavery  are 
growing  wider  and  wider.  In  1790,  the  slaves  were 
less  than  700,000;  now  they  are  nearly  4,000,000. 
Once  the  public  sentiment,  even  at  the  South,  was 
against  the  extension  of  slavery.  Washington,  in  his 
last  will,  ordered  his  slaves  to  be  emancipated  on  the 


220  NOTES. 

death  of  his  wife.  John  Randolph  bequeathed  freedom 
to  his  numerous  slaves.  Patrick  Henry  declared  his 
persuasion,  that  the  principle  of  slavery  is  "  as  repug 
nant  to  humanity,  as  it  is  inconsistent  with  the  Bible, 
and  destructive  to  liberty."  Mr.  Jefferson  said,  in  his 
Notes  on  Virginia,  in  reference  to  the  holding  of  slaves, 
"  I  tremble  for  my  country,  when  I  remember,  that  God 
is  just ! " 

But  at  the  present  moment  all  the  States  of  the 
South  are  struggling,  through  the  aid  of  the  border- 
ruffians  of  Missouri,  who  are  slave-holders,  to  render 
the  territory  of  Kansas,  which  by  the  compromise  act 
of  1820  was  forever  consecrated  to  freedom,  a  slave 
State,  in  order  that  the  South  may  get  the  certain  and 
lasting  control  of  the  government  of  our  country.  And 
I  am  not  certain,  that  there  is  a  voice  in  the  whole 
South,  which  dares  now  to  utter  what  her  great  men 
of  clear  intellect,  embracing  the  principles  of  human 
freedom,  in  former  days  could  not  avoid  honestly  and 
loudly  proclaiming. 

In  respect  to  the  teaching  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus 
Christ  on  this  subject,  one  precept  is  in  my  view  con 
clusive  :  "  All  things  whatsoever  ye  would,  that  men 
should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so  to  them."  To  an 
honest  slave-holder,  inquiring  as  to  his  duty,  T  would 
recommend,  that  he  should  meditate  upon  this  precept, 
and  answer  to  his  own  mind  the  following  questions : 
'  Were  you  and  your  children  slaves,  would  you  not  like 
to  be  free  ?  Would  you  not  wish  your  master  to  set 
you  free  ? ' 


NOTES.  221 

As  to  the  import  of  the  Constitution  and  the  powers 
conferred  by  it  on  the  General  Government  in  regard 
to  slavery,  I  know  no  higher  authority,  than  the  opinion 
of  the  late  Mr.  Webster.  It  was  his  judgment,  1.  That 
the  Constitution  does  not  give  the  General  Govern 
ment  any  power  to  recover  out  of  a  State  an  escaped 
slave:  it  only  declares  the  duty  of  a  State  to  deliver 
up  one  escaped  from  labor  or  service  "  on  claim  of  the 
party"  to  whom  the  labor  and  service  are  due.  2. 
That  the  Constitution  gives  the  General  Government 
power  to  refuse  the  admission  into  the  Union  of  any 
new  slave  State.  He  said  in  Congress  in  1845,  "I  do  not 
think,  that  the  Free  States  ever  expected,  that  they 
should  be  called  on  to  admit  more  Slave  States,  hav 
ing  the  unequal  advantages  arising  to  them  from  the 
mode  of  apportioning  representatives  under  the  existing 
Constitution."  In  his  speech  at  Buffalo  he  said,  "  I 
never  would  consent,  that  there  should  be  one  foot  of 
slave  territory  beyond  what  the  old  13  States  had  at 
the  time  of  the  foundation  of  the  Union.  Never, 


never ! 


I  » 


In  a  speech  at  New  York,  in  1837,  he  said,  "  When  it 
is  proposed  to  bring  new  members  into  this  political  part 
nership,  the  old  members  have  a  right  to  say,  on  what 
terms  such  new  partners  are  to  come  in,  and  what  they 
are  to  bring  along  with  them." 

If  the  free  spirit  of  the  fathers  should  govern  their 
children,  will  they  not,  at  this  late  hour,  say,  that  no  new 
States  shall  ever  henceforth  enter  into  our  free  Union 
<'  bringing  along  with  them"  human  beings,  immortal 


222  NOTES. 

men,  as  slaves  ?  But  those  among  us,  who  have  travelled 
far  into  years  and  who  have  not  forgotten  the  days  of 
Washington,  have  the  bitter,  humiliating  reflection,  that 
while  their  memory  reaches  back  to  the  period,  when  a 
band  of  strugglers  for  freedom  reared  up  a  free,  repub 
lican  government,  those  heroes  and  their  families,  all 
counted,  are  now  equalled  in  numbers  by  the  men 
among  us,  who  wear  the  chains  of  a  miserable  slavery. 
Will  not  all  good  men  labor  and  pray  to  God,  that  these 
chains  may  be  broken  V 

If  the  result  of  the  present  contest,  the  most  extraor 
dinary  and  important,  which  our  country  ever  witnessed, 
should  be  in  favor  of  liberty,  and  Kansas  should  be 
added  to  the  free  States,  and  afterwards  no  new  slave 
State  should  ever  be  added  to  the  fifteen  now  in  our 
Union  of  31  States,  still  the  huge  mass  of  slavery  will 
remain  in  our  country,  its  reproach,  its  crime,  its  peril ; 
removable  —  not  by  the  action  of  the  General  Govern 
ment,  which  has  no  authority  as  to  slavery,  as  it  exists, 
except  in  the  District  of  Columbia,  and  in  the  Territo 
ries,  and  on  that  great  highway,  the  ocean, — but  only 
by  the  awakened  conscience  and  recovered  wisdom  of 
the  citizens  of  the  slave-holding  States.  When  the 
wise,  and  benevolent,  and  patriotic  men  of  the  South 
shall  apply  themselves  to  the  work,  they  will  not  plead 
the  danger  of  freedom ;  they  cannot  fail  readily  to  dis 
cover  the  safe  method  of  restoring  liberty  to  their  miser 
able  brethren  in  bondage. 


NOTES.  223 

Canto  II.     Stanza  49. 

Cicero  believed  the  immortal  existence  of  the  soul,  and 
in  thinking  of  the  hour,  when  his  spirit  should  pass 
away  from  the  earth  and  mingle  with  the  spirits  of  the 
departed  good  and  illustrious,  he  exclaimed :  "  O  prse- 
clarum  diem,  cum  ad  illud  divinum  animorum  con 
cilium,  ccetumque  proficiscar,  cumque  ex  hac  turba  et 
colluvione  discedam ! " 

Canto  III.    Stanza  19. 

The  meaning  of  Waunseet  in  the  Mohegan  language 
is  "  the  man,  who  is  beautiful." 

Canto  III.    Stanza  22. 

My  companions  at  the  White  Hills,  nearly  forty  years 
ago,  as  I  well  remember,  were  Nathaniel  H.  Carter  and 
Levi  Woodbury.  With  our  coats  off  we  jumped  over 
the  Saco,  there  but  a  brook,  and  clambered  up  the  rocky 
side  of  the  mountain  in  pursuit  of  the  crystals.  The  former 
was  a  scholar  of  a  fine  taste  and  a  most  amiable  man,  who 
died  at  Marseilles  in  1830.  He  was  the  editor  of  papers 
in  Albany  and  New  York.  His  interesting  letters  from 
Europe,  in  2  vols.,  were  published  in  1827.  The  latter, 
who  died  in  1851,  was  very  distinguished  in  public  life,— 
a  Senator,  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury,  and  Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court.  We  found 
with  pleasure  the  beryls  on  the  hill';  but  in  thinking  of 
our  dead  friends  the  gems  of  earthly  honor  do  not  beam 
brightly  on  the  eye. 


224  NOTES. 

Or  Northern  streamers  play 

Their  wondrous  frolics  in  their  pure  and  bright  array. 

Canto  III.  st.  33. 

Of  the  many  beautiful  displays  of  the  Northern  Lights, 
which  I  have  witnessed,  the  most  remarkable  were  those 
of  Nov.  17,  1835,  Aug.  12,  1836,  Jan.  25,  and  July  1, 
1837,  Feb.  21,  Sept.  14,  1838,  and  Sept.  3,  6,  and  29, 
1851.  The  broad  bows  across  the  northern  heavens, 
with  the  masses  of  light  shooting  up  from  their  borders, 
the  rich  crimson  beams  overspreading  the  sky,  the  rush 
ing  Avaves,  the  varying  hues  of  the  rapid  streamers  or 
merry  dancers,  mounting  to  the  zenith  from  every  point 
of  the  horizon,  and  near  the  zenith  forming  a  crown  as 
for  the  author  of  nature,  could  not  fail  to  overwhelm 
me  with  wonder  and  delight. 

Canto  III.    Stanza  35. 

It  is  now  fifty-two  years,  since  in  1804,  after  a  solitary 
ride  of  four  or  five  hundred  miles  on  horseback,  I  reached 
Buffalo,  now  a  great  city,  but  then  a  village  of  nineteen 
houses :  at  Black  Rock,  on  the  shore  of  the  Niagara,  I 
met  a  majestic  Indian,  the  famous  Red  Jacket,  or  Sagu- 
oaha,  who  was  attending  his  little  granddaughter,  as 
from  a  rock  she  cast  her  hook  into  the  stream ;  and  here 
by  a  ferry  I  crossed  the  river,  and  rode  down  to  Chippe- 
way  and  the  Falls  on  the  Canada  side.  I  think  it  was 
in  1818,  that  the  projecting  shelf,  known  as  Table  Rock, 
fell  into  the  abyss  below ;  yet  the  general  features  of  the 
shore  are  very  little  changed  from  what  they  were,  when 
in  my  youth  I  gazed  upon  them. 


NOTES.  225 

The  heavens  every  day  and  every  night  present  to 
the  eyes  of  all  men  the  most  magnificent  and  the  sub- 
limest  objects ;  but  of  the  things  of  the  earth  among  the 
sublimest,  which  I  have  been  permitted  to  see,  I  may 
mention  the  Falls  of  the  Niagara,  the  great  lakes  of  the 
West  and  the  Atlantic  ocean  of  the  East,  the  view  from 
the  top  of  Mount  Washington,  in  New  Hampshire,  and 
at  Mont  Alvert  at  the  foot  of  Mont  Blanc  in  Switzer 
land.  Of  the  beautiful  scenes  of  the  earth,  that,  which 
delights  the  eye  from  the  top  of  Mount  Holyoke,  which 
lifts  itself  up  before  the  window  of  my  house,  in  which 
I  write,  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful. 

Canto  IIL     Stanza  36. 

It  was  in  1812,  that  Mrs.  Sarah  Gumming,  the  wife  of 
Rev.  Hooper  Gumming,  of  Newark,  fell  from  the  rocks 
at  the  Patterson  Falls  of  the  Passaic  into  the  gulf  below. 
She  was  with  her  husband,  and  had  been  married  but  a 
few  weeks. 

Metliinks  the  praise  of  war  1  could  recite. 

Canto  HI.  st.  54. 

The  author  was  among  the  half  dozen  of  Delegates 
from  Massachusetts,  who- in  August  1849  attended  the 
large  Peace  Congress  at  Paris,  consisting  of  many  hun 
dred  members  from  England,  Scotland,  and  several 
countries  of  the  Continent.  Louis  Napoleon  was  then 
the  President  of  the  Republic :  to  him  the  Congress 
sent  a  committee  with  some  good  resolutions  relating  to 
the  proportional  disbanding  by  the  nations  of  Europe  of 
14 


226  NOTES. 

their  costly  armies  and  the  settlement  of  national  diffi 
culties  by  arbitration.  He  received  the  Committee  with 
good  words,  and  one  of  his  ministers  made  a  grand  en 
tertainment  for  the  whole  Congress,  and  treated  their 
ears  with  martial  music  from  a  band  of  a  hundred  players. 

When  soon  afterwards  the  President,  by  the  aid 
of  the  soldiery,  and  at  the  expense  of  much  blood, 
made  himself  the  Emperor  of  France,  what  became  of 
the  scholarly,  eloquent,  and  illustrious  presiding  officer 
of  our  peace  company,  Victor  Hugo  ?  He  was  banished 
from  his  country,  driven  into  exile,  through  fear  of  his 
influence  in  favor  of  liberty ;  and  thus  he  remains,  while 
the  triumphant  aspirant  to  a  crown  lives  in  high  com 
munion  with  the  kings  of  Europe  and  has  just  finished 
the  sacrifice  of  one  or  two  hundred  thousand  strong- 
bodied  Frenchmen  at  Sebastopol,  whose  lives  would 
have  been  spared,  if  our  good  peace  advice  had  been 
followed. 

I  cannot  doubt,  but  the  illustrious  exile  will  in  this 
moment  of  triumph,  of  exultation,  and  of  composure  be 
recalled  to  his  beloved  France.  Indeed,  the  Emperor 
has  nothing  to  fear  from  him,  for  henceforth  his  political 
life  is  over,  and  there  is  left  to  him  only  the  life  of  a 
scholar. 

At  the  moment  of  writing  this,  May  13th,  with  great 
joy  I  am  able  to  say,  that  only  twenty  days  ago  Victor 
Hugo  reappeared  in  the  city  of  Paris, — not  indeed  per 
sonally,  but  in  the  heart-born  book  of  '  Contemplations ' 
in  two  volumes,  a  whole  edition  of  which  was  sold  in  one 
day.  How  is  it  possible,  that  his  delighted  readers  will 


NOTES.  227 

not  be  allowed  very  soon  to  welcome  him  in  person,  as 
he  shall  come  to  dwell  for  the  remainder  of  his  days  in 
his  own  beautiful  city  ? 

This  book  contains  his  poetry  of  a  quarter  of  a  cen 
tury,  written  between  1830  and  1855,  poems  of  joy  and 
of  sorrow  ; — and  they  are  written,  as  all  poetry  should 
be  written,  from  the  heart.  He  says  in  his  preface — 
"  What  are  the  Contemplations '?  If  the  expression 
was  not  too  assuming,  they  might  be  called  the  Memoirs 
of  a  Soul.  And  my  life  is  yours  ;  your  life  is  mine : 
you  live  what  I  live  ;  destiny  is  one.  Take  then  this 
mirror,  and  in  it  look  upon  yourself." 

This,  I  am  persuaded,  is  the  right  conception  of  the 
most  effective  poetry.  If  the  I  is  banished ;  if  the  poet 
hides  himself ;  if  the  poet's  heart  feels  not  and  his  tongue 
speaks  not,  mere  abstractions  will  not  have  a  controlling 
power  over  the  soul.  The  poet  must  utter  his  own  heart 
felt  conceptions ;  and  they  must  be  right  and  true  and 
worthy  of  being  uttered. 

Hugo  speaks  of  sorrow — "  the  true,  sole  sorrow,  Death ; 
the  loss  of  loved  ones."  As  I  have  not  read  his  book,  I 
know  not  what  are  his  sources  of  consolation ;  but  as  I 
can  sympathize  with  him  in  his  sorrow,  even  in  his 
precise  sorrow  of  the  loss  of  an  eldest  daughter, 
accomplished  and  in  the  bloom  of  youth, — and  perhaps 
sympathize  the  more,  because  she  was  of  French  descent, 
inheriting  the  Huguenot  name  of  Malleville,  a  name 
dear  to  me  beyond  that  of  all  others — so  I  commend 
him,  not  to  any  vain  and  idle  philosophy,  but  to  the  grace 
of  the  living,  enthroned  Redeemer  of  sinners,  through 


228  NOTES. 

whose  death  and  resurrection  "  life  and  immortality  are 
brought  to  light." 

Canto  IV.     Stanza  1. 

In  the  town  of  East  Hoosuck,  now  Adams,  a  fort  was 
built  in  1742,  called  Fort  Massachusetts,  designed  to  in 
tercept  the  French  and  Indians,  who  by  the  way  of  the 
Hudson  and  the  Hoosuck  might  wish  to  attack  the  set 
tlements  on  the  Connecticut.  This  fort,  with  only 
twenty-two  effective  men,  under  Col.  Hawks,  was  cap 
tured  by  8  or  900  of  the  enemy  under  Gen.  De  Vau- 
dreuil,  Aug.  22,  1746,  after  Hawks  had  exhausted  his 
ammunition  in  a  two  days'  brave  defence  of  his  post. 
Of  the  captured  was  John  Norton,  the  chaplain.  As 
the  fort  was  rebuilding  the  next  year  an  attack  was  made, 
in  which  a  friendly  Indian  from  Stockbridge  was  killed. 
Col.  Williams  defended  the  fort  Aug.  2,  1748,  against 
200  of  the  enemy ;  he  was  killed  at  Lake  George  in 
Sept.  1755.  Again  was  the  fort  attacked  June  7, 1756. 

Canto  IV.     Stanza  2. 

Mr.  Stevens  and  Miss  Piercy  were,  in  1755,  fleeing 
from  Pittsfield  on  one  horse.  At  the  south  part  of 
Lenox,  near  a  ledge  of  rocks,  he  was  shot  by  the  Indians 
and  fell,  while  she  rode  away  on  the  same  horse  and 
reached  Stockbridge  in  safety. 

Canto  IV.     Stanza  13. 

George  Sackville,  or  Lord  George  Germain,  one  of 
the  King's  Ministers,  in  his  letter  of  instructions  to  Sir 


NOTES.  229 

Guy  Carlton,  1777,  says,  it  was  the  King's  determination 
to  employ  most  of  his  forces  "upon  two  expeditions,  the 
one  under  Lieut.  Gen.  Burgoyne,  who  is  to  force  his 
way  to  Albany  ;  the  other  under  Lieut.  Col.  St.  Leger, 
who  is  to  make  a  diversion  by  way  of  the  Mohawk  River. 
As  this  plan  cannot  be  so  advantageously  executed  with 
out  the  assistance  of  the  Canadians  and  INDIANS,  his 
Majesty  strongly  recommends  to  your  care  to  furnish 
both  expeditions  with  good  and  sufficient  bodies  of  those 
men." 

In  the  last  manifesto  of  the  British  Commissioners  in 
1778,  they  say,  that  if  the  terms  of  peace  are  rejected 
by  the  United  States,  "  they  were  to  expect  more  severe 
expressions  of  British  vengeance."  This  called  forth  in 
dignant  comments  in  Parliament.  The  Marquis  of 
Buckingham  declared  it  "  a  proclamation  contrary  to  hu 
manity,  to  Christianity,  and  to  every  idea  of  virtuous 
policy."  The  Bishop  of  Peterborough  said,  "  that  in  the 
account  of  the  extraordinaries  of  the  army  for  the  last  year, 
charges  were  made  for  the  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife, 
that  is  for  the  Indians  in  our  service  exercising  their  hor 
rid  butcheries."  Lord  Camden  said,  "  the  declaration  in 
the  proclamation  held  forth  a  war  of  revenge,  such  as 
Moloch  in  pandemonium  of  hell  advised."  Mr.  Burke 
said,  '  the  extremes  of  war '  threatened,  "  meant  the 
killing  man,  woman,  and  child,  burning  their  houses, 
ravaging  their  lands,  annihilating  humanity  from  off  the 
face  of  the  earth,  or  rendering  life  so  wretched,  that 
death  would  be  preferable.  And  this  dreadful  menace 
was  against  men  conscious  of  rectitude,  who  acted  in  a 


230  NOTES. 

good  cause,  and  stood  to  fight  for  freedom  and  their 
county."  The  dark-minded  Germain  was  obliged  to 
hear  all  this,  and  "  attempted  to  soften  and  explain 
away  the  rigor  of  the  expressions."  A  venal  majority  in 
Parliament  prevented  the  vote  of  censure  ;  but  thirty- 
one  of  the  House  of  Lords  entered  their  protest  against 
"  the  return  of  that  ferocity,  which  a  beneficial  religion, 
enlightened  manners,  and  true  military  honor  had  for  a 
time  banished  the  Christian  world."  In  the  phrase, 
'  true  military  honor,'  there  was  a  point  of  great  keenness 
to  a  man,  who,  though  now  as  the  Secretary,  managing 
the  scalping-knife  war  in  America,  had  for  his  miscon 
duct  in  the  battle  of  Minden  been  solemnly  adjudged 
incapacitated  for  any  military  office  whatever. 

The  next  year  after  Lord  George  Germain  had  directed 
the  employment  of  the  Indians ,  Col.  John  Butler,  a  Tory 
refugee,  with  900  Indians  and  200  whites,  destroyed  in 
July,  1778,  Wyoming,  on  the  Susquehanna,  in  Pennsyl 
vania,  the  savages  committing  a  horrible  massacre. 
There  were  200  widows  made  in  one  day.  Charles 
Miner,  in  his  copious  history  of  Wyoming,  1845,  gives 
a  minute  description  of  the  horrors  of  the  savage  torture 
and  murder  of  the  prisoners,  and  of  the  flight  in  the 
wilderness  of  women  and  children. 

The  writer,  long  ago  an  admirer,  like  our  young 
scholars,  of  the  style  of  the  Letters  of  Junius,  was  at 
length  led  by  curiosity  to  examine  with  great  attention 
several  books  on  the  authorship  of  those  celebrated 
Letters ;  and  in  his  view  the  evidence  was  satisfactory 
and  conclusive,  as  unfolded  by  G.  Coventry  in  1825,  in 


NOTES.  231 

his  Critical  Enquiry  into  the  Letters  of  Junius,  that 
Lord  George  Sackville  was  the  author;  and  here  perhaps 
the  writer  may  be  excused  for  saying,  that  he  himself 
was  the  author  of  a  small  anonymous  book,  published  at 
Boston,  in  1828,  by  Hilliard,  Gray,  Little  &  Wilkins, 
entitled  '  Junius  Unmasked,'  restating  briefly  the  exist 
ing  arguments  and  furnishing  many  new  ones  to  prove 
Sackville  to  be  the  author.  If  the  proof  is  good,  there 
is  no  mistake  in  ascribing  the  savage  though  polished 
Letters  of  Junius  to  the  mind  of  the  King's  Minister? 
who,  in  order  to  conquer  the  stubborn  Americans, 
instructed  Sir  Guy  Carlton  to  employ  the  Indians  with 
their  tomahawks  and  scalping-knives,  and  skill  in  slow 
tortures. 

Canto  IV.    Stanza  37. 

As  Jonathan  Edwards  was  the  name  of  both  father 
and  son,  and  as  each  was  the  President  of  a  College,  they 
are  apt  to  be  confounded.  The  father  was  the  Presi 
dent  of  Nassau  Hall,  Princeton,  and  died  in  1 758  ;  the 
son  was  the  President  of  Union  College,  Schenectady, 
and  died  in  1801.  He  had  the  title  of  Doctor  in  Theol 
ogy,  which  his  father  had  not,  although  he  was  the  illus 
trious  teacher  of  theological  and  metaphysical  learning. 
The  father  was  the  missionary  to  the  Stockbridge  In 
dians,  though  it  was  the  son,  who  published  '  Observa 
tions  on  the  Mohegan  Language.'  The  works  of  Presi 
dent  Edwards  were  published  by  his  descendant,  Dr. 
Sereno  E.  D wight,  with  his  life,  in  10  vols. :  the  works 
of  Dr.  Edwards,  the  son,  were  published  in  2  vols. 


232  NOTES. 


OF  THE  MOHEGAN  LANGUAGE. 

• 

The  Mohegan,  as  explained  by  Dr.  Edwards,  who  ac 
quired  it  in  childhood,  when  his  father  was  a  missionary 
in  the  Hoosatunnuk  Valley,  was  briefly  as  follows  :  It 
abounds  in  labials,  of  which  the  Mohawk  is  destitute  ; 
as  the  Mohawks  never  closed  their  lips,  they  used  to 
boast,  that  they  kept  their  mouths  open,  while  they 
spoke,  and  other  Indians  did  not.  The  same  words  ex 
press  he  and  she,  him  and  her :  a  man  would  say  of  his 
wife, '  he  sick  ;  he  gone  away.'  To  a  noun  an  is  added 
to  express  his ;  as  wnechun,  child ;  wnechunan,  his  child. 
The  plural  is  formed  by  the  addition  of  k  or  uk,  as  ne- 
mannau,  a  man,  nemannauk,  men  ;  penumpausoo,  a  boy, 
penumpausoouk,  boys.  An  elder  and  a  younger  brother 
are  distinguished  by  the  two  words,  netohcon  and  nghee- 
sum ;  and  so  sisters  are  distinguished  by  nmass  and 
ngheesum.  The  younger  brother  and  sister  are  denoted 
by  the  same  word.  The  Mohegans  have  no  use  for 
adjectives  to  express  qualities,  which  is  done  by  neuter 
verbs,  as  wnissoo,  he  is  beautiful ;  mtissoo,  he  is  homely. 
They  suffer  no  inconvenience  from  this  loss  of  adjectives. 
As  their  active  verbs  are  declined,  so  are  these  verbs  of 
qualities ;  as  npumseh,  I  walk ;  kpumseh,  thou  walkest ; 
npumsehnuh,  he  walketh ;  npumsehnuh,  we  walk ; 
kpumsehmuh,  ye  walk ;  pumissoouk,  they  walk :  so 
npehtuhquissoo, I  am  tall;  kpehtuhquisseh,  thou  art  tall ; 
pehtuhquissoo,  he  is  tall,  &c.  They  have  participles,  as 


NOTES.  233 

paumseet,  the  man  who  walks ;  oioteet,  the  man  who 
fights.  They  have  no  relatives  like  our  who  and  which : 
instead  of  the  man  who  walks,  they  say,  the  walking 
man  or  the  walker.  By  adverbs  they  express  degrees, 
as  annuweeweh  wnissoo,  he  is  more  beautiful ;  kahnuh 
wnissoo,  he  is  very  beautiful.  They  have  prefixes  and 
affixes  like  the  Hebrews,  and  sometimes  both.  They 
have  no  absolute  word,  as  father,  but  always  say,  nogh, 
my  father ;  kogh,  thy  father,  &c.  They  cannot  say  I 
love,  but  I  love  him  or  her ;  nor  say,  John  loves  Peter, 
but  John  he  loves  him  Peter,  John  uduhwhunuw  Peter- 
an.  As  Neah  is  I ;  Keah,  thou  ;  TJwoh,  he,  this  man ; 
so  n  or  ne  is  prefixed  to  denote  the  first  person  ;  k  or  ka 
to  denote  the  second ;  and  u  or  uw,  or  oo  suffixed  to 
denote  the  third.  The  plural  has  the  suffix  nuh,  as 
noghnuh,  our  father.  Neaunuh  means  we,  keauwuh 
means  ye. 

The  following  are  the  principal  Mohegan  words,  as 
used  in  the  Hoosatunnuk  Valley,  which  have  been  pre 
served. 


Air,  Auwon. 

Autumn,  T'quauquuh. 

Bad,  Maclitit. 

Bean,  Tupohquaun. 

Bear,  M'quoh. 

He  is  beautiful,  Wnissoo. 

She    is  beautiful,    Wunnis- 

soo. 
The  man  who  is  beautiful, 

Waunseet. 


Beaver,  Amisk. 
Book,  OotlwoJiliagaun. 
Boy,  Penumpausoo. 
Elder  brother,  Netohcon. 
Elder  brothers,  NetoTiconuk. 
His  child,  Wnechun. 
Cloud,  M'laucq. 
Cold,  Thautlm. 
Indian  corn,  Shamonun. 
Coward,  Matansautee. 


234 


NOTES. 


You  are  a  coward,  Kmat- 

tanissauteuh. 
Daughter,  O'toosaun. 
Dawn,  Pautaupon. 
A  day,  Waukaumauw. 
Dead,  or  he  is  dead,  Neepoo, 

or  nboo. 
I  die,  Nup, 
To  die,  Nip. 
A  duck,  Queechamo. 
Ear,  Towohq. 
East,  Wauchunoong. 
I  eat,  Nmeetseh. 
Thou  eatest,  Kmeetseh. 
He  eateth,  Meetsoo. 
Eat  thou,  Meetseh. 
Eight,  Ghusooh. 
Evening,     Thaughesu,    or 

i)onaugooshik. 
Eye,  Hkeesk. 
His  eyes,  Ukeesquan. 
Our  father,  Noghnuh. 
My  father,  Afy/A. 
Thy  father,  KogJi. 
I  fight,  Ndiotuwoh. 
The  fighter,  Oitee*. 
Fire,  Stauw. 
Fish,  Namas,  or  namase. 
Four,  Nauwoh. 
Girl,  Peesquausoo. 


You  are  a  girl,  Kpeesqua- 

sooeh. 

Give  it  him,  Meenuh. 
God,  Pautaumouwoih. 
He  goes,  Pumissoo. 
Good,  Wunneet. 
Good  for  nothing,  M/'i'i. 
Goose,  TFo/3aso. 
My  grandchild,  NaugTiees. 
Great,  or  he  is  great, 


Hail,  Sassagua. 
Hair,  VFe^f^aw^wn. 
My  hand,  Nnisk. 
Thy  hand,  Knisk. 
His  hand,  Unisk. 
Handsome,  W«nm'«. 
Hatchet,  Tmohhecan. 
My  hatchet,  Ndumhecan. 
Thy  hatchet,  Ktumhecan. 
His  hatchet,  Utumhecan. 
Your  hatchet,   Ktumliecan- 

noowuh. 
He,  UwoJi. 

His  head,  C/i!«p,also  Weensis. 
His  heart,  KoA. 
Hill,  Gh'aukoock. 
He  is  homely,  Mtisissoo. 
House, 
Husband, 


NOTES. 


235 


Her  husband,  Waughecheh. 

I,  Neah. 

Ice,  M'quaumeek,  Mooquau- 
meh. 

Impostor,  or  he  is  an  impos 
tor,  Mtissoo. 

Indian  corn,  Skammonun. 

Island,  M'nauhaun. 

Dress  the  kettle,  or  make  a 
fire,  Pootouwah. 

King,  Kioweenooh. 

Lake,  'Pquaughon. 

Light,  Wauntliaujouw. 

Lightning,  Waywassimo. 

Love,  Uhwhundowukon. 

I  love  thee,  Ktuhwhunin. 

I  love  you,  Ktuhwhunooh- 
muh. 

Malice,  Nsconmowukon. 

He  is  malicious,  Nsconmoo. 

A  man,  Nemannauoo. 

He  is  a  man,  Nemannauwoo. 

Marry,  Weenween. 

Men,  Nemannauk. 

Moon,  Nepauhauck. 

Month,  Geezis. 

More,  Anuweeweh. 

Morning,  Naujaupauwewar 
Keegeezhaib. 

Mother,  Cfkegaun. 


Mountain,   Wchu,   Whau- 

choo. 

Good  for  nought,  Mtit. 
Night,    P'quaunaujouh,  or 

T,  &c. 

Nine,  Nauneeweh. 
Noon,  Nauwuckway. 
North,  Keewaydenoong. 
Old  man,  'Kchee. 
Partridge,  Pahpahcogh. 
Queen,  Sunck. 
Rain,  Sookanoun  or  Thock- 

naun,  and  Kimewun. 
Rainbow,  Anuquaun. 
Religion,  Perjuhtommauwu- 

kon. 

River,  Seepoo,  or  Theepow. 
Rock,  Thanaumku. 
The  sea,  Ktaunnauppeh. 
Shoe,  Mkissin. 
I  sing,  NacJigo  chema. 
Sit  down,  Mattipeh. 
Sky,  Onauwauk. 
Snow,  Psaun  or  Psaune  and 

M'sauneeh. 
South,  Oshawanoong. 
Star,  Anocksuk. 
Stockbridge,      Wnoghque- 

tookoke. 
Summer,  Neepon. 


236 


NOTES. 


Sun,  Keesogh,  also  a  month. 

Ten,  Mtannit. 

Thou  art  tall,  Kpehtuhquis- 

seh. 

He  is  tall,  Pehtuhquissoo. 
Ye  are  tall,   Kpehluhquis- 

seJimuli. 

His  teeth,  Wepeeton. 
Thou,  Keali. 
Thunder,  Pautquauhan,and. 

Annemeekee. 
Tree,  MacJitok. 
Two,  NeesoJi. 
He  is  ugly,  MachtilL 
My  uncle,  Nsees. 
Very,  Kalmuh. 


To  walk, 
I  walk,  Npumseh. 
Thou  walkest,  Kpumseh. 
He  walking,  Paumseet. 
Ye  walk,  Kpumsehmuh. 
Walk  thou,  Pumisseh. 
We,  Neaunnuh. 
West,  Caubeunoong. 
White  people,  Chuckopek. 
Wife,  TFeewone. 
Wind,  Ksaughon. 
Winter,  Poon,  or  Hpoon. 
A  Woman,  P'yhainoom. 
Ye,  Keauwuh. 
Yesterday,  fFnwtwwoA. 
Young  man,  Eeowthkenooh. 


Page  159. 

As  the  first  poetical  piece  in  this  volume  is  a  dedica 
tion  to  my  wife,  and  the  last  relates  to  her  death,  so  this 
last  Note  is,  in  the  providence  of  God,  not  foreign  to  her. 
In  the  course  of  printing,  the  stereotype-plate  proof 
sheet  of  the  lines  on  her  death,  which  was  June  3, 1828, 
came  to  me  yesterday,  on  the  memorable  day,  June  3, 
1856  ;  and  on  the  same  evening  a  grandchild,  two  years 
old,  Harriet,  daughter  of  Rev.  John  Wheelock  Allen  of 
Wisconsin,  died  in  my  house,  being  seized  only  the  pre 
ceding  evening  by  scarlatina.  She  is  to  be  placed  in  the 


NOTES.  237 

grave  by  the  side  of  two  other  grandchildren  of  the  ages 
of  five  and  six  years,  victims  to  the  same  plague,  who 
a  few  days  ago  died  in  a  neighboring  house,  John  and 
Charlotte,  children  of  Erastus  and  Charlotte  Hopkins. 
In  my  sorrow  in  the  loss  of  these  three  beautiful  chil 
dren, — my  daily  delight  in  my  old  age, — I  find  a  source 
of  joy  in  the  persuasion,  that  '  the  elect  angels '  have 
conveyed  their  spirits  to  the  arms  of  my  Malleville,  and 
thus  perhaps  added  to  her  bliss  in  the  presence  of  her 
Redeemer.  Mourners  of  the  earth !  May  God  in  his 
mercy  allow  you  to  cherish  the  hope  of  a  re-union,  in 
joy  uninterrupted,  with  those,  whom  you  mourn.  Fare 
well. 


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